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Latest TV and radio news, comment and analysis from the Guardian, the world's leading liberal voiceen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016Fri, 09 Dec 2016 16:08:22 GMT2016-12-09T16:08:22Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2016The Guardianhttps://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttps://www.theguardian.com
First look at the Doctor Who Christmas special – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/dec/09/doctor-who-christmas-special-2016-trailer-video
<p>This Christmas, Doctor Who (Peter Capaldi) and Nardole (Matt Lucas) join forces with a masked vigilante known only as the Ghost for a New York adventure. Will the Doctor be able to save Manhattan?<br></p><ul><li>The Return of Doctor Mysterio airs on Christmas day at 5.45pm on BBC1<br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/dec/09/doctor-who-christmas-special-2016-trailer-video">Continue reading...</a>Doctor WhoTelevisionChristmasTelevision & radioCultureUK newsLife and styleBBCFri, 09 Dec 2016 13:57:40 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/dec/09/doctor-who-christmas-special-2016-trailer-videoPhotograph: Simon Ridgway/BBCPhotograph: Simon Ridgway/BBCGuardian Staff2016-12-09T13:57:40ZThe Grand Tour is everything that was wrong with Clarkson-era Top Gearhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/the-grand-tour-everything-that-was-wrong-with-clarkson-era-top-gear
<p>Clarkson, Hammond and May have too much cash now – and they’re splashing it on pointless explosions and tired scripts. Will the BBC have the last laugh?</p><p>When Top Gear’s Clarkson era spluttered to a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2015/mar/25/jeremy-clarkson-top-gear-contract-bbc">steak-related end</a> last year, even its staunchest fans – and, as the petitions to reinstate Clarkson proved, it still had a vast number of those – must have grudgingly accepted that the motorcade of man-child mayhem was past its prime. Its final series wasn’t bereft of fun segments (Hammond being dropped into the British Columbian wilderness was one highlight), but even these were blighted with the issues that had long outweighed its initial knockabout charm: bloated scenes of forced scripted comedy, an over-reliance on Hollywood visuals, and carefully plotted structured-reality taking the place of anything really happening. Glimmers of the trio’s off-the-cuff banter were there, but you had to squint to see them.</p><p>Nevertheless, when Clarkson, Hammond and May found themselves cast off, the acquisition of their services seemed like the surest deal a rival service could possibly make. At its demise, Top Gear still had worldwide viewing figures in the region of 350 million, making it the most-viewed factual (add your own air-quotes) programme in the world. A bidding war was inevitable and, even at a reported $160m, Amazon’s purchase seemed like a good deal for everyone. It got a vast pool of potential fans to cough up for Prime; those same fans still got their Top Gear, plus the tantalising possibility of goods delivered the same day; and the presenters, without the BBC’s finger for ever wagging in their direction, might finally get to make the show they always wanted to. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/the-grand-tour-everything-that-was-wrong-with-clarkson-era-top-gear">Continue reading...</a>The Grand TourTelevisionJeremy ClarksonCultureTelevision & radioFri, 09 Dec 2016 13:15:51 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/the-grand-tour-everything-that-was-wrong-with-clarkson-era-top-gearPhotograph: Ellis O'BrianPhotograph: Ellis O'BrianLuke Holland2016-12-09T13:15:51ZCaptive: the abject human misery of kidnap in eight glossy docshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/captive-the-abject-human-misery-of-kidnap-in-eight-glossy-docs
<p>This vicarious Netflix series examines what it’s like to be part of a hostage situation, though not everyone gets to tell the tale</p><p><strong>What is it?</strong> A glossy doc series about abject human misery and kidnap. Merry Christmas.</p><p><strong>Why you’ll love it: </strong>Because you live such a golden life of disease-free, non-violent delight that you need to experience that “alive” feeling vicariously through the drawn-out torment of others? That’s putting it a bit strongly, but this beautifully shot series, complete with gritty reconstructions, explores famous real-life hostage situations, a facet of the human experience none of us hope to suffer personally. Film crews have covered the globe to interview victims, families and officials as far afield as the Philippines, Iraq and Somalia.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/captive-the-abject-human-misery-of-kidnap-in-eight-glossy-docs">Continue reading...</a>DocumentaryFactual TVTelevision & radioTelevisionNetflixFri, 09 Dec 2016 07:00:22 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/captive-the-abject-human-misery-of-kidnap-in-eight-glossy-docsPhotograph: Patrick Smith/NetflixPhotograph: Patrick Smith/NetflixJulia Raeside2016-12-09T07:00:22ZSouth Park finale: trolls create chaos by 'bringing out the worst in humanity'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/south-park-season-20-finale-trolls
<p>The end of a particularly topical season has an orange-faced president struggling to deal with the power of the trolls who got him elected</p><p>The final episode of South Park’s serialized 20th season picked up where <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/south-park-episode-nine-us-election-theme">we left off last week</a>: in the midst of an international crisis caused by bunch of trolls (of both the presidential and garden-variety).</p><p>In the Pentagon, the “stank face” and be-oranged President Garrison is told that the Russians are scrambling bombers to attack Denmark in retaliation for Troll Trace, the program that will allow anyone to look up anyone else’s internet history that will go online in minutes.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/south-park-season-20-finale-trolls">Continue reading...</a>South ParkAnimationTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionEpisode recapsThu, 08 Dec 2016 15:18:42 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/south-park-season-20-finale-trollsPhotograph: Comedy CentralPhotograph: Comedy CentralMegan Carpentier2016-12-08T15:18:42ZSomali pirates to prison riots: the series on real-life kidnaps holding audiences Captivehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/captive-real-life-hostage-situations-netflix-simon-chinn
<p>By getting unprecedented access to people on all sides of notorious kidnaps – from US prison riots to the Bethlehem siege – the new Netflix documentary series sheds light on some of history’s tensest events</p><p>Never pay the ransom. It’s the the official line of governments across the world and yet, every year, millions of pounds change hands to secure the release of those taken in kidnappings.</p><p>The murky world of hostage negotiations is shrouded in mystery, done behind closed doors and often drags the most unsuspecting people into a web of organised crime or poverty-driven desperation.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/captive-real-life-hostage-situations-netflix-simon-chinn">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioDocumentaryFactual TVThu, 08 Dec 2016 13:49:27 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/captive-real-life-hostage-situations-netflix-simon-chinnPhotograph: Patrick Smith/NetflixPhotograph: Patrick Smith/NetflixHannah Ellis-Petersen2016-12-08T13:49:27ZHairspray Live! NBC's all-singing, all-dancing, all-live musical as it happenedhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/live/2016/dec/07/hairspray-live-nbc-musical-as-it-happens-john-waters
<p>The annual tradition continued with a live take on the cult John Waters comedy turned hit Broadway musical</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2016-12-08T03:56:43.932Z">3.56am <span class="timezone">GMT</span></time> </p><p>Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaand we’re done. Well it was an energetic and relatively smooth production. NBC gets points for choosing a musical with relevancy and, despite being a bit blunt at times, it got a number of powerful points across. I’m still not entirely sure if the format of a live TV musical works but, given the extortionate price of Broadway shows, I can see the appeal. Right, I’m going to sit in a room of silence for a few hours.</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2016-12-08T03:52:26.344Z">3.52am <span class="timezone">GMT</span></time> </p><p>The very big, potentially endless cast are all now coming on one by one to bow for applause. Not a single one of them has fallen over so I am refusing to clap.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/live/2016/dec/07/hairspray-live-nbc-musical-as-it-happens-john-waters">Continue reading...</a>US televisionCultureMusicalsTelevisionTelevision & radioAriana GrandeJennifer HudsonMusicThu, 08 Dec 2016 03:56:43 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/live/2016/dec/07/hairspray-live-nbc-musical-as-it-happens-john-watersPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesBenjamin Lee2016-12-08T03:56:43ZDonald Trump to remain executive producer of Celebrity Apprenticehttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/donald-trump-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producer
<p>The president-elect’s name will appear in credits of the show he hosted for more than a decade, confirming a continuation of his business entanglements</p><p>Donald Trump will not give up his role as an executive producer of The Celebrity Apprentice, the reality TV show’s studio said on Thursday, confirming a continuing business entanglement of the president-elect but not its details.</p><p>Trump’s name will appear in the credits of the show, studio MGM <a href="http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/donald-trump-mark-burnett-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producer-1201937420/">told Variety magazine</a> on Thursday, after the name of show creator Mark Burnett and before that of program’s new host, Arnold Schwarzenegger. Trump hosted the show for more than a decade before his presidential campaign, during which NBC, the network that airs the show, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jun/29/donald-trump-dropped-nbc-mexico">broke ties with him</a> over his claims that Mexican people are “bringing drugs, and bringing crime, and their rapists”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/donald-trump-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producer">Continue reading...</a>Donald TrumpUS politicsUS newsTrump administrationUS televisionFri, 09 Dec 2016 01:25:55 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/08/donald-trump-celebrity-apprentice-executive-producerPhotograph: Andrew Harnik/APPhotograph: Andrew Harnik/APAlan Yuhas in San Francisco2016-12-09T01:25:55ZSamantha Bee criticizes Trump claims: 'For the record, massive voter fraud is a lie'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/samantha-bee-full-frontal-donald-trump-voter-fraud
<p>The Full Frontal late-night host talked about the president-elect’s shaky transition and fabricated allegations about illegal voting practices</p><p>Samantha Bee has taken on Donald Trump’s continued claims that voter fraud affected last month’s elections, calling them “big lies”.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/15/samantha-bee-donald-trump-cabinet-full-frontal">Samantha Bee on Trump's cabinet list: 'Deplorables, zealots and extremists'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/samantha-bee-full-frontal-donald-trump-voter-fraud">Continue reading...</a>Samantha BeeTelevision & radioCultureUS televisionTelevisionDonald TrumpTue, 06 Dec 2016 15:55:04 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/samantha-bee-full-frontal-donald-trump-voter-fraudPhotograph: YouTubePhotograph: YouTubeBenjamin Lee2016-12-06T15:55:04ZThe best TV shows of 2016: 50-11https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/best-tv-shows-of-2016
<p>A countdown of Guardian TV’s favourite programmes of the year. We’ll reveal the top 10 day by day until 19 December<br></p><p>• <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/series/best-culture-2016">More on the best culture of 2016</a></p><p><sub>11</sub></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/best-tv-shows-of-2016">Continue reading...</a>CultureTelevision & radioComedyComedyTelevisionDramaReality TVFresh MeatUnbreakable Kimmy SchmidtThe Walking DeadOrange is the New BlackUS televisionDocumentaryLouis TherouxThe Great British Bake OffFood TVDeutschland 83Factual TVEducational TVGame of ThronesOJ SimpsonThe Young PopeVeepAtlantaWestworldWar and PeaceThe CrownGrayson PerryRobbie ColtraneTue, 06 Dec 2016 12:31:33 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/best-tv-shows-of-2016Photograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOGuardian Staff2016-12-06T12:31:33ZTrevor Noah on Trump's America: 'Divided people are easier to rule'https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/05/trevor-noah-essay-donald-trump-south-africa-apartheid
<p>The Daily Show host compared the current US political climate to apartheid he witnessed growing up in South Africa in his essay for the New York Times</p><p>Trevor Noah has compared Donald Trump’s America to South African apartheid in a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/05/opinion/trevor-noah-lets-not-be-divided-divided-people-are-easier-to-rule.html?_r=0">new essay</a> for the New York Times.</p><p>The Daily Show host has expressed his disappointment and fears over the decision to elect the reality TV star as president while calling for unity as the ultimate weapon against him.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/05/trevor-noah-essay-donald-trump-south-africa-apartheid">Continue reading...</a>Trevor NoahDonald TrumpCultureUS newsUS televisionMon, 05 Dec 2016 19:54:28 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/05/trevor-noah-essay-donald-trump-south-africa-apartheidPhotograph: Matt Sayles/Invision/APPhotograph: Matt Sayles/Invision/APBenjamin Lee2016-12-05T19:54:28ZWestworld finale recap – robot army, assemble!https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/westworld-finale-recap-robot-army-assemble
<p>In an explosive ending, we finally learn the truth about Wyatt – and he wants to murder every human within eyeshot. Truly, this TV is perfectly suited to 2016</p><p><em>Spoiler alert: this blog is published after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/westworld">Westworld</a> </em><em>airs on HBO in the US on Sunday night. Do not read unless you have watched episode 10, which airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday at 9pm.</em></p><p>Thank you for the loops. For the rolling cans of milk. For the muttonchops and breeches, the coffins packed with nitroglycerine and the fields littered with corpses. Thank you for the 3D tablets, the cottages in the woods, the high-speed elevators and the drill-bits up the nose. Thank you for the narratives and the reveries, the updates and the flashbacks. Thank you, finally, for Westworld. It was a great little park, but now it’s undergoing some repairs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/westworld-finale-recap-robot-army-assemble">Continue reading...</a>WestworldTelevision & radioCultureTelevisionUS televisionEpisode recapsMon, 05 Dec 2016 15:22:44 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/westworld-finale-recap-robot-army-assemblePhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOPaul MacInnes2016-12-05T15:22:44ZThe Walking Dead: season seven, episode seven – Sing Me a Songhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/the-walking-dead-season-seven-episode-seven-sing-me-a-song
<p>Sleazy Negan and his dirty double entendres are back – and the plots to end him are piling up. But is he the only who makes this show sing now? </p><p><em>• Spoiler alert: this blog is published after The Walking Dead airs in the US on Sundays. Do not read unless you have watched season seven episode seven, which airs in the UK on Fox on Mondays at 9pm.</em></p><p>“You know what’s going to happen,” said Negan. “It’s going to be hard to watch.” He was addressing the assembled Saviors in their former factory compound as he prepared to apply a red-hot iron from the furnace to Mark’s face as punishment for some infraction. But he could have been talking to us.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/the-walking-dead-season-seven-episode-seven-sing-me-a-song">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioCultureThe Walking DeadTelevisionDramaUS televisionEpisode recapsMon, 05 Dec 2016 12:46:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/the-walking-dead-season-seven-episode-seven-sing-me-a-songPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCStuart Jeffries2016-12-05T12:46:19Z‘She gave her mother 40 whacks’: the lasting fascination with Lizzie Bordenhttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/04/lizzie-borden-40-whacks-lasting-fascination
More than a century after a crime that gripped America, it is still a magnet for authors and film-makers<p>Here in Britain if we know Lizzie Borden at all it’s probably as the gruesome subject of an infuriatingly catchy children’s rhyme: “Lizzie Borden took an axe/And gave her mother forty whacks/When she saw what she had done/She gave her father forty one”. But that is all set to change as a host of new projects including a film, <em>Lizzie Borden</em>, starring Chloe Sevigny and Kristen Stewart, a highly anticipated debut novel, <em>See What I Have Done</em>, and a revival of a cult US rock musical, <a href="www.lizziemusical.co.uk" title=""><em>Lizzie</em></a>, place America’s most famous probable parricide back in the spotlight again.</p><p>The new projects mark the culmination of a recent surge of interest in Borden’s story almost 125 years after she first hit the headlines. In 2014 US cable channel Lifetime showed a television film, <em>Lizzie Borden Took An Ax,</em> and followed that up with a 2015 series <em>The Lizzie Borden Chronicles</em>, both of which received a mixed response. Earlier this year author Sarah Miller received considerably better reviews for her non-fiction work <em>The Borden Murders: Lizzie Borden and The Trial of the Century,</em> while the crime scene itself has been rebranded as the Lizzie Borden Bed and Breakfast Museum since the mid 1990s and does a roaring trade enticing true crime fans, ghost hunters and even the odd would-be author through its doors.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/04/lizzie-borden-40-whacks-lasting-fascination">Continue reading...</a>True crimeCrime dramaUS televisionCrimeBooksFilmCultureTelevision & radioTelevisionSun, 04 Dec 2016 00:04:02 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/books/2016/dec/04/lizzie-borden-40-whacks-lasting-fascinationPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoPhotograph: Alamy Stock PhotoSarah Hughes2016-12-04T00:04:02ZThe best TV of 2016 … that you probably didn't watchhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/best-tv-2016-you-probably-didnt-watch
<p>In the golden age of TV, it’s easy to miss shows that are well worth a look. We picked a handful of the criminally underrated for your viewing pleasure</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/best-tv-2016-you-probably-didnt-watch">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionUS televisionTelevision & radioCultureFri, 02 Dec 2016 14:12:25 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/best-tv-2016-you-probably-didnt-watchComposite: AMC, FX, Hulu, Netflix, Starz and Time WarnerComposite: AMC, FX, Hulu, Netflix, Starz and Time WarnerBenjamin Lee , Dave Schilling, Ruth Spencer, Kate Abbott, Lanre Bakare, Gwilym Mumford and Amber Jamieson2016-12-02T14:12:25ZGilmore Girls: A Year in the Life review – a beautifully wrapped gifthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/25/gilmore-girls-a-year-in-the-life-review-a-beautifully-wrapped-gift
<p>The world is going to pot, but the cult TV show is back – with its fast-talking women, pet pigs and extras dressed as snowflakes – to bring joy to our lives</p><p>To many, Gilmore Girls – the cult TV series about a fast-talking, coffee-swilling, pop culture-spieling mother and daughter – is a very precious thing. Fans have been waiting breathlessly for this weekend, when the four 90-minute reunion specials, <a href="https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80109415">Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life</a>, become available on Netflix. They’ve been queuing at <a href="http://www.glamourmagazine.co.uk/article/lukes-diner-popup-gilmore-girls">local cafes pretending to be the diner</a> from the show. There has been endless speculation as to “those final four words” – the ending the show’s creator Amy Sherman-Palladino intended for her beloved show but never got the chance to use, having not been at the helm for its final series in 2007. And there have been <a href="http://tvline.com/2016/11/18/gilmore-girls-revival-video-last-four-words-psa/">public service announcements</a> by the cast attempting to deter over-zealous types from revealing spoilers. I too am excited, for I am one of those who holds this show close to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/05/sunny-safe-gilmore-girls-comfort-tv">their heart</a>. For me, watching the specials feels like coming home. </p><p>It is nine years since we last saw Lorelai (Lauren Graham) bid goodbye to her then 23-year-old daughter, Rory (Alexis Bledel), a budding journalist setting off to join Barack Obama’s campaign trail. More friends than mother and daughter, facilitated by the 16-year age gap, the girls’ reunion on the steps of a snow-covered gazebo that opens the first episode is all things Gilmore, albeit with an overt 2016 flavour. Ushered in with the show’s signature ‘la la la’s and some ear-muffed extras snapping a selfie, the leads barely pause for breath as they talk diphtheria, hummus dip and defending accusations of being Gooped. “Wow, winded,” Rory concedes. “Haven’t done that for a while,” Lorelai says, and fans everywhere cheer.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/25/gilmore-girls-a-year-in-the-life-review-a-beautifully-wrapped-gift">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioNetflixFri, 25 Nov 2016 13:13:12 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/25/gilmore-girls-a-year-in-the-life-review-a-beautifully-wrapped-giftPhotograph: Saeed Adyani/NetflixPhotograph: Saeed Adyani/NetflixAbigail Radnor2016-11-25T13:13:12Z'Was it worth the wait? You bet it was': readers review The Grand Tourhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/was-it-worth-the-wait-you-bet-it-was-readers-review-the-grand-tour
<p>It’s difficult to not compare the new show to Top Gear but many of you have. Here’s what you said about the trio’s new venture<br></p><p>• <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-grand-tour-review-jeremy-clarkson-james-may-richard-hammond-leave-the-bbc-in-their-dust">The Grand Tour review – Clarkson and co leave the BBC in their dust</a></p><p>Rating: 5 out of 5</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/was-it-worth-the-wait-you-bet-it-was-readers-review-the-grand-tour">Continue reading...</a>The Grand TourCultureTelevision & radioFri, 18 Nov 2016 11:02:40 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/was-it-worth-the-wait-you-bet-it-was-readers-review-the-grand-tourPhotograph: Ellis O'Brien/Publicity imagePhotograph: Ellis O'Brien/Publicity imageRachel Obordo and Guardian readers2016-11-18T11:02:40ZThe Crown review – the £100m gamble on the Queen pays off royallyhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/04/the-crown-review-netflix-100m-gamble-on-the-queen-pays-off-royally
<p>From Liz’s misery to Phil the Greek’s gaffes and the PM’s drug habit, Peter Morgan’s Netflix series is a top-quality soap that refuses to bow before the royals</p><p>A man coughs bloodied lung lining up into a toilet bowl. Later, he asks his doctor if he should be concerned about “a spot of blood in my spittle”. You could only be in England, and so it very much turns out we are. The year is 1947, the toilet bowl is in Buckingham Palace and the man spattering it with sanguineous sputum is King George VI, on the morning of his eldest daughter Princess Elizabeth’s marriage to Johnny Foreigner, known to his friends as Philip Mountbatten. </p><p>So opens The Crown, Netflix’s latest and most ambitious foray in the world of original programming. It is written by Peter Morgan (who wrote 2006’s Oscar-winning <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/sep/15/helenmirren.drama">The Queen</a>, and the 2013 play <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/mar/09/the-audience-review-helen-mirren-queen-broadway-gerald-schoenfeld-theater">The Audience</a>, which both offered robust takes on the Royal family and its accreted lore), with the first two episodes directed by Stephen Daldry, and is rumoured to have cost £100m to make. Which is one reason – or rather, about 90m of them – that you are seeing it on the streaming service and not on the channel that would seem its most natural home, the BBC. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/04/the-crown-review-netflix-100m-gamble-on-the-queen-pays-off-royally">Continue reading...</a>The CrownTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureNetflixFri, 04 Nov 2016 13:02:57 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/04/the-crown-review-netflix-100m-gamble-on-the-queen-pays-off-royallyPhotograph: Alex Bailey/NetflixPhotograph: Alex Bailey/NetflixLucy Mangan2016-11-04T13:02:57ZGood Girls Revolt review – watch this if you want to get angryhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/good-girls-revolt-amazon-prime-review-feminist-sexist-60s
<p>OK it’s no Mad Men, but Amazon’s new show is an evocative portrait of sexist 60s medialand – where the women did all the work and the men took all the credit </p><p>New York, the 1960s, a media office. Men with oiled hair and sharp suits. And women in short skirts, who are basically there to facilitate the men: their work, their egos and their penises. The cigarette smoke doesn’t hide the foul stench of sexism. </p><p>Nora, the new girl, has a few dangerous and revolutionary ideas about injustice and inequality. “It’s like you guys are fighting about the lower bunk bed in jail,” she says to her new female colleagues, “to make the guys … look better.” Meanwhile, out of the window and beyond, the 60s are happening: peace and love, pot, the pill, Iron Butterfly, Easy Rider, Vietnam. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/good-girls-revolt-amazon-prime-review-feminist-sexist-60s">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionDramaTelevision & radioCultureNora EphronFri, 28 Oct 2016 14:06:24 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/good-girls-revolt-amazon-prime-review-feminist-sexist-60sPhotograph: Jessica Miglio/Amazon PrimePhotograph: Jessica Miglio/Amazon PrimeSam Wollaston2016-10-28T14:06:24ZThe Great Indoors review – millennial-bashing sitcom is an unfunny failhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/the-great-indoors-review-millennial-bashing-sitcom
<p>Joel McHale plays a man unable to cope with digital culture in a tired and toothless comedy that already feels like a relic</p><p>If Trump TV, the long-gestating post-election project for Donald J Trump, actually <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/24/trump-tv-facebook-live-us-election-media-tomi-lahren">comes to fruition</a>, it already has what should be its first comedy show: The Great Indoors. A tale of a middle-class white man that the world has passed by seems like it would resonate with many of the people who are packing into the reality star turned presidential hopeful’s rallies. Just like the main character, they think America was greater in an idealized past that no longer exists. They make fun of PC culture, diversity and inclusion. They take stabs at the younger generation for getting trophies just for participating and for thinking that work should be fun. Yeah, this show would be perfect for Trump.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/best-fall-tv-amazon-hbo">This week's best TV: Good Girls Revolt, The Great Indoors and Charlie Brown</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/the-great-indoors-review-millennial-bashing-sitcom">Continue reading...</a>US televisionComedyComedyCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioThu, 27 Oct 2016 14:26:00 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/the-great-indoors-review-millennial-bashing-sitcomPhotograph: Monty Brinton/CBSPhotograph: Monty Brinton/CBSBrian Moylan2016-10-27T14:26:00ZDirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency review – Sherlock for the stoner sethttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/23/dirk-gently-holistic-detective-agency-review-sherlock
<p>Goofy adaptation of Douglas Adams’ cult novel pairs Elijah Wood and Samuel Barnett for a crime-solving caper that over-delivers on quirk</p><p>It was always a certain kind of kid in high school that would be carrying around a dog-eared copy of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: a bit of an outcast, kept to himself, was a little bit too into Star Wars, and always knew where to get the best weed. It’s exactly that same guy who will love BBC America’s new adaptation of one of BBC radio producer turned novelist Adams’ other seminal novels Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency. For the rest of us, well, it might be a little much. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/17/best-fall-tv-2016-rocky-horror">The week's best TV: Rocky Horror, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Black Mirror</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/23/dirk-gently-holistic-detective-agency-review-sherlock">Continue reading...</a>US televisionDouglas AdamsBooksCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioSun, 23 Oct 2016 15:00:03 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/23/dirk-gently-holistic-detective-agency-review-sherlockPhotograph: BBC AmericaPhotograph: BBC AmericaBrian Moylan2016-10-23T15:00:03ZBlack Mirror review – this nightmare sterile world is only five minutes awayhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/black-mirror-review-charlie-brooker-nightmare-sterile-world-is-only-five-minutes-away
<p>Charlie Brooker’s future shocker, where people are constantly projecting a sunny image of themselves and rating each other out of five, feels terrifyingly close</p><p>Imagine a time where zombie-like people look only into their smart phones. They swipe and they rate not just cabs and restaurants but people, too. They take photos of themselves being happy and looking good; also photos of things – funny things, sunny things, or food they are eating, cool food. Then they post the pictures and wait, for feedback, for approval. They are posting their lives – not so much their real lives but the lives they want other people to see and think they are living. Mostly they worry, about how they are seen, about their status …</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charlie-brooker-someone-threatened-to-smuggle-a-rifle-through-customs-and-kill-me">Charlie Brooker: 'Someone threatened to smuggle a rifle through customs and kill me'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/black-mirror-review-charlie-brooker-nightmare-sterile-world-is-only-five-minutes-away">Continue reading...</a>Black MirrorTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureFri, 21 Oct 2016 14:34:58 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/black-mirror-review-charlie-brooker-nightmare-sterile-world-is-only-five-minutes-awayPhotograph: David Dettmann/NetflixPhotograph: David Dettmann/NetflixSam Wollaston2016-10-21T14:34:58ZCrazy Ex-Girlfriend review – love still hurts in superb second seasonhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-review-season-two-rachel-bloom
<p>Rachel Bloom is back as the optimistic yet obsessive heroine in a smart and consistently entertaining season premiere, with a new theme song and a new mission</p><p>When most shows change their theme song it’s a cosmetic difference, just a little something to freshen the old girl up. When Crazy Ex-Girlfriend changes the song it’s a whole new mission statement. Rachel Bloom’s hilarious relationship show (with musical numbers!) may be a little bit more focused for its second outing and that makes this often overlooked gem twice as good. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-rachel-bloom-im-not-saying-love-is-bull-but">Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom: 'I'm not saying love is bull, but…'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-review-season-two-rachel-bloom">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyComedyFri, 21 Oct 2016 17:37:56 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-review-season-two-rachel-bloomPhotograph: PRPhotograph: PRBrian Moylan2016-10-21T17:37:56ZThe Rocky Horror Picture Show: dammit Janet, it doesn't quite workhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/20/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-time-warp-review
<p>Solid performances, but the meta presentation is muddled and the decadence has been fatally dialed down – even Rocky’s no longer in a tight, gold Speedo </p><p>I have seen <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2013/mar/04/how-we-made-rocky-horror">The Rocky Horror Picture Show</a>, the 1975 cult classic that still plays weekly in movie houses across the world, more than I have seen any other movie. I know the lyrics to all the songs, most of the dialogue by heart, and have immersed myself in the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/19/rocky-horror-picture-show-fan-rituals-fox-remake">culture of the live performances</a>. When Fox announced it was remaking the film for television (under the clunky title <a href="http://www.fox.com/the-rocky-horror-picture-show">The Rocky Horror Picture Show: Let’s Do the Time Warp Again</a>) I was excited that new fans would find this treasure I’ve loved for decades, but also petrified that director <a href="https://twitter.com/KennyOrtegaBlog?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Kenny Ortega </a>(High School Musical) might destroy it. He certainly hasn’t done that, but he hasn’t done much to amplify or re-evaluate the campy sci-fi-tinged musical either. <br></p><p>As always, this is the story of young square lovers Brad (Ryan McCartan) and Janet (Victoria Justice) who want to celebrate their recent engagement with their mentor turned friend Dr Scott (Ben Vereen). On the way to his house they get a flat tire and wander into the castle of Dr Frank-N-Furter (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jun/14/laverne-cox-orange-new-black-transgender">Laverne Cox</a>). Along with her butler Riff Raff (Reeve Carney), maid Magenta (Christina Milian), and entertainer Columbia (Annaleigh Ashford), the self-described sweet transvestite is having a party to celebrate the birth of Rocky (Staz Nair), a musclebound mute she created for her sexual gratification. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/20/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-time-warp-review">Continue reading...</a>US televisionRocky Horror ShowCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioMusicalsThu, 20 Oct 2016 16:02:08 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/20/the-rocky-horror-picture-show-time-warp-reviewPhotograph: FoxPhotograph: FoxBrian Moylan2016-10-20T16:02:08ZChance review – Hugh Laurie breaks bad but the results aren't goodhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/chance-review-hugh-laurie-hulu
<p>The star plays yet another doctor in this new Hulu show that wants to be a tense noirish tale of a man pushed to the edge but fails to rise above cliche</p><p>It makes sense that TV relies on the same stars (Kevin James, Kiefer Sutherland, Kristen Bell) for new projects. That’s why it’s no shock that Hugh Laurie, who played Dr House on the super successful medical procedural for eight seasons, is back and will hopefully be bringing his audience with him to Hulu for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jan/07/the-new-doctor-hugh-laurie-takes-a-chance-on-hulu">his new thriller, Chance</a>. But just because networks rely on the same stars, why, oh why, do they have to make the same series repeatedly? </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/17/best-fall-tv-2016-rocky-horror">The week's best TV: Rocky Horror, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Black Mirror</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/chance-review-hugh-laurie-hulu">Continue reading...</a>US televisionHugh LaurieTelevisionCultureHuluDramaTelevision & radioWed, 19 Oct 2016 14:30:36 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/chance-review-hugh-laurie-huluPhotograph: David Moir/APPhotograph: David Moir/APBrian Moylan2016-10-19T14:30:36ZEyewitness review – a compelling and complex crime show remakehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/16/eyewitness-review-tv-show-usa-norway-remake-crime-drama
<p>USA’s new anthology series based on a Norwegian small-town crime drama is dragged out a bit longer than necessary but is a deceptively substantial take</p><p>There’s a certain type of film-making – the washed-out colors, the bleak autumn landscape, the small towns with big problems which are always about five minutes away from a downpour or maybe just five minutes after the end of one – that suggest a TV drama set in the Pacific north-west. </p><p>To be even more specific, it usually indicates an American remake of a Scandinavian show. Remember <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/the-killing-us">The Killing</a>? Sadly, I do too.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/16/eyewitness-review-tv-show-usa-norway-remake-crime-drama">Continue reading...</a>Crime dramaTelevisionUS televisionNew YorkCultureDramaTelevision & radioSun, 16 Oct 2016 17:03:49 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/16/eyewitness-review-tv-show-usa-norway-remake-crime-dramaPhotograph: PR IMAGEPhotograph: PR IMAGEBrian Moylan2016-10-16T17:03:49ZGoliath review – another legal drama? Billy Bob Thornton makes a good casehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/goliath-review-billy-bob-thornton-legal-drama-amazon
<p>While the setup might sound cliched, this new Amazon show is a noirish treat filled with a strong supporting cast of unconventional characters</p><p>On paper, there are many reasons to be concerned about Goliath. It’s the type of “prestige drama” that the age of Peak TV has flooded us with. There’s a male anti-hero, the type of drunk who lives in a motel next to his favorite bar and drives a rundown classic Mustang with a busted windshield he can’t afford to fix. He’s divorced from a shrew of an ex-wife and has a tight relationship with his teenage daughter even though he lets her hang out with him in the bar. Of course he’s going to do the right thing and save the day because he’s super talented even though he’s kind of an asshole. Before even starting the series on Amazon I thought to myself, “Do we even need another one of these?” </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/falling-water-review-usa-network-sci-fi-thriller">Falling Water review – dream-controlling sci-fi thriller will send you to sleep</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/goliath-review-billy-bob-thornton-legal-drama-amazon">Continue reading...</a>US televisionBilly Bob ThorntonCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioFri, 14 Oct 2016 17:17:38 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/goliath-review-billy-bob-thornton-legal-drama-amazonPhotograph: Credit Colleen E. Hayes/Amazon Prime VideoPhotograph: Credit Colleen E. Hayes/Amazon Prime VideoBrian Moylan2016-10-14T17:17:38ZFalling Water review – dream-controlling sci-fi thriller will send you to sleephttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/falling-water-review-usa-network-sci-fi-thriller
<p>An ambitious new show from the producer of The Walking Dead has twists aplenty but struggles to turn its characters into anything but ciphers</p><p>Falling Water, USA’s new sci-fi thriller about lucid dreamers and those trying to control them, wants its central mystery to be like a crushing tsunami that everyone is anxiously bracing for as they see resolution inching toward them week after week. Instead it’s more like the drone of the ocean, which will lull you right to sleep. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/10/best-tv-this-week-graves-goliath-american-housewife">The week's best TV: Graves, Goliath and American Housewife</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/falling-water-review-usa-network-sci-fi-thriller">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioScience fictionThu, 13 Oct 2016 15:02:34 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/falling-water-review-usa-network-sci-fi-thrillerPhotograph: USA Network/Michael Parmalee/USA NetworkPhotograph: USA Network/Michael Parmalee/USA NetworkBrian Moylan2016-10-13T15:02:34ZAmerican Housewife review – family sitcom fails to raise enough laughshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/american-housewife-review-abc-family-sitcom-fails
<p>Another suburban comedy added to ABC’s Tuesday night lineup has potential but wastes it on overly familiar jokes and a reliance on cliches</p><p>Right now with The Middle, Fresh Off the Boat, and The Real O’Neals, ABC’s Tuesday night lineup is sort of like the Must See TV of family sitcoms. And just like Must See TV brought us classics such as Friends, Seinfeld and Will &amp; Grace it also brought us Madman of the People, Daddio and Cursed. It seems like American Housewife, the newest show to land on ABC’s Tuesday night, is much more decidedly in the latter category of forgettable shows. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/10/best-tv-this-week-graves-goliath-american-housewife">The week's best TV: Graves, Goliath and American Housewife</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/american-housewife-review-abc-family-sitcom-fails">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyComedyTue, 11 Oct 2016 15:40:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/american-housewife-review-abc-family-sitcom-failsPhotograph: Tony Rivetti/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Tony Rivetti/Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-10-11T15:40:19ZInsecure review – Issa Rae's standout HBO comedy is confidently funnyhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/07/insecure-review-hbo-issa-rae
<p>The story of a young black woman living in LA and dealing with a wilting relationship makes for a fresh and exciting new series</p><p>There’s something quite remarkable about HBO’s long-gestating comedy Insecure. It’s the first pilot this season that comes close to perfection, the sort of show that leaves you feeling giddy, eager to tell all of your friends about it. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/divorce-hbo-review-sarah-jessica-parker-comeback">Divorce review – Sarah Jessica Parker shines in bleak and bitter HBO comeback</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/07/insecure-review-hbo-issa-rae">Continue reading...</a>US televisionHBOTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioFri, 07 Oct 2016 14:40:56 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/07/insecure-review-hbo-issa-raePhotograph: Anne Marie Fox/HBOPhotograph: Anne Marie Fox/HBOBrian Moylan2016-10-07T14:40:56ZDivorce review – Sarah Jessica Parker shines in bleak and bitter HBO comebackhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/divorce-hbo-review-sarah-jessica-parker-comeback
<p>The Sex and the City star takes on a darker role in a comedy that dares to offer an unflinching look at the end of a relationship</p><p>Have you ever wondered what would have happened if Carrie Bradshaw had ended up married in the suburbs, older, sadder and not necessarily wiser, juggling debt, teenage kids and a hangdog husband she no longer loves to whom she has “literally nothing to say”? If so, HBO’s new comedy Divorce might be for you.</p><p>But that’s not to say the show, created by Sharon Horgan and starring Sarah Jessica Parker, isn’t its own interesting beast. It’s Parker’s first leading television role since Sex and the City finished in 2004 and she plays Frances, a frustrated woman approaching 50 with the quiet rage of someonestuck in a rut she can’t imagine a way out of. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/divorce-hbo-review-sarah-jessica-parker-comeback">Continue reading...</a>US televisionSarah Jessica ParkerDivorceTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThu, 06 Oct 2016 14:39:24 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/divorce-hbo-review-sarah-jessica-parker-comebackPhotograph: Craig Blankenhorn/APPhotograph: Craig Blankenhorn/APSarah Hughes2016-10-06T14:39:24ZFrequency review – time travel thriller is surprise small screen winnerhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/frequency-tv-review-dennis-quaid
<p>A remake of the 2000 Dennis Quaid sci-fi thriller manages to remain exciting and original, despite its dusty heritage</p><p>The two biggest trends of the 2016 television season are remakes (Lethal Weapon, MacGyver, The Exorcist) and time travel shows (Timeless, the upcoming Time After Time and Making History). It would seem that Frequency is the conflation of these two separate threads, but hardly anyone remembers the 2000 Dennis Quaid movie that the series is based on and no one actually travels through time. They just talk about it on the radio. Maybe it’s because it has both of these traits – or maybe because it doesn’t really have either – that Frequency is the best of either bunch. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/timeless-nbc-review-time-travel-drama-abigail-spencer">Timeless review – smart time travel drama set to have long future</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/frequency-tv-review-dennis-quaid">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureScience fictionWed, 05 Oct 2016 14:52:53 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/frequency-tv-review-dennis-quaidPhotograph: CWPhotograph: CWBrian Moylan2016-10-05T14:52:53ZNo Tomorrow review – it's apocalypse swoon in end-of-world romcomhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/04/no-tomorrow-cw-end-world-apocalist-tori-anderson-joshua-sasse
<p>He’s an Aussie hipster who believes the end of the world is nigh; she’s a warehouse worker who falls for him. But is there any future to their romance – or, more importantly, this show? </p><p>Xavier Holliday (<a href="https://twitter.com/joshuasasse?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Joshua Sasse</a>) is an Aussie hunk with a washboard stomach and shoulders broader than the Grand Canyon. He wears a floppy knit cap (even in the summer) and a scruffy beard, sporting Buddhist prayer beads around his neck and turquoise and silver rings on his fingers. He drinks batch-brewed “sour beer” that is an acquired taste, shops for <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/why-you-should-give-rutabaga-a-chance-183530">rutabagas</a> at the farmers’ market, and has a guitar and amp prominently displayed in his boho-chic apartment. He doesn’t have a man bun, but he should. He’s sort of like <a href="http://www.dosequis.com/">The Most Interesting Man in the World</a>’s douche-y son. He the kind of fantasy guy who couldn’t exist in real life, and is absolutely irresistible – until he shares his belief that the world is coming to an end in eight months and 12 days, when it will be hit by an asteroid the size of Mount Everest. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/best-tv-week-divorce-timeless-mindy-project-sarah-jessica-parker">The week's best TV: Divorce, Timeless and The Mindy Project</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/04/no-tomorrow-cw-end-world-apocalist-tori-anderson-joshua-sasse">Continue reading...</a>US televisionThe CWTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioTue, 04 Oct 2016 15:01:59 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/04/no-tomorrow-cw-end-world-apocalist-tori-anderson-joshua-sassePhotograph: The CW Network, LLC.Photograph: The CW Network, LLC.Brian Moylan2016-10-04T15:01:59ZConviction review – flashy new procedural drama should be sent to jailhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/conviction-abc-flashy-new-procedural-drama-crime
<p>Despite a great premise and the considerable talents of Hayley Atwell, ABC’s latest crime series fails by trying to do too much</p><p>Conviction, ABC’s latest procedural drama, is a little bit like letting your toddler dress herself for school. Many of the pieces of the ensemble are great, but when you put them together, all you can see is a messy jumble, and the bad things distract from the good. It’s a case of trying too hard with somewhat good intentions. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/luke-cage-netflix-marvel-comics">Luke Cage review – Marvel's powerful black superhero drama is bulletproof</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/conviction-abc-flashy-new-procedural-drama-crime">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureDramaMon, 03 Oct 2016 14:34:25 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/conviction-abc-flashy-new-procedural-drama-crimePhotograph: John Medland/Getty ImagesPhotograph: John Medland/Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-10-03T14:34:25ZCrisis in Six Scenes – Woody Allen's TV debut is lazy, lame and badly acted. But it looks nicehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/01/crisis-in-six-scenes-woody-allens-tv-debut-is-lazy-lame-and-badly-acted-but-it-looks-nice
<p>The structure is naive, the comedy isn’t funny, parts verge on the embarrassing – and Miley Cyrus hasn’t even turned up yet. Someone please take Woody off autopilot</p><p>Does he know how bad it is? He being Woody Allen, it being <strong>Crisis in Six Scenes </strong>(Amazon), his first foray into television since writing comedy sketches for the small screen at the start of his career. </p><p>In the first scene his character – Sidney Munsinger, a writer, a little neurotic, more than a little familiar – is having a haircut, while America in the 1960s goes on outside. We know it’s the 60s because of the opening montage of super-60s stuff: hippies freaking out, civil rights riots, anti-war marches, Jefferson Airplane, and a narrator who then says it’s the 1960s. But then a TV audience isn’t so smart – you need to shout in their ear, right?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/01/crisis-in-six-scenes-woody-allens-tv-debut-is-lazy-lame-and-badly-acted-but-it-looks-nice">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioWoody AllenNetflixMediaSat, 01 Oct 2016 06:30:12 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/01/crisis-in-six-scenes-woody-allens-tv-debut-is-lazy-lame-and-badly-acted-but-it-looks-nicePhotograph: AmazonPhotograph: AmazonSam Wollaston2016-10-01T06:30:12ZTimeless review – smart time travel drama set to have long futurehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/timeless-nbc-review-time-travel-drama-abigail-spencer
<p>NBC’s sci-fi adventure might suffer from some of the problems associated with the sub-genre but it’s done with enough panache, that you’ll barely notice</p><p>While I have never zipped back into the past to make sure that my mother and father fall in love in the 60s or into the future to pick up a hoverboard and a sports almanac, I hate time travel as a device in movies, TV shows, comic books, musical theater adaptations, and any other form of media that has yet to be invented. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/conviction-abc-flashy-new-procedural-drama-crime">Conviction review: flashy new procedural drama should be sent to jail</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/timeless-nbc-review-time-travel-drama-abigail-spencer">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioScience fictionDramaMon, 03 Oct 2016 15:06:41 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/03/timeless-nbc-review-time-travel-drama-abigail-spencerPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-10-03T15:06:41ZLuke Cage review – Marvel's powerful black superhero drama is bulletproofhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/luke-cage-netflix-marvel-comics
<p>The first seven episodes of the new Netflix show suggest a hip-hop western celebrating Harlem’s powerful resonance as a repository of African American culture</p><p>If the original 1970s version of Luke Cage were to turn up in 2016, he would be sure to get some funny looks. Debuting at the height of Blaxploitation in 1972, Marvel Comics’ first African American superhero to get his own title sported a gaudy open-chested canary-yellow jacket, chain belt, lavish afro and bizarre steel tiara. His catchphrase, “Sweet Christmas!” would have made even Chef from South Park grimace with embarrassment.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/golden-age-black-tv-false-dawn-david-simon">Is this a golden age for black TV makers or another false dawn?</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/luke-cage-netflix-marvel-comics">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioNetflixMediaMarvelThu, 22 Sep 2016 14:02:36 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/luke-cage-netflix-marvel-comicsPhotograph: Myles Aronowitz/NetflixPhotograph: Myles Aronowitz/NetflixBen Child2016-09-22T14:02:36ZTransparent review – the best thing on TV at the momenthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/26/transparent-review-the-best-thing-on-tv-at-the-moment
<p>Now in its third series, Jill Soloway’s drama continues to explore family dynamics and gender identity in a show so filled with humanity it spills into your own life</p><p>I went to Mum’s last weekend, for her 77th-birthday barbecue, along with my brother and sister and their families. I say Mum, but she now identifies as a man. My sister’s husband was there, even though they’re no longer together; and her new girlfriend, she’s a lesbian now. My brother isn’t with anyone in particular, though while we were there our old babysitter – who used to actually sit on him, in a sex way, when he was pretty much still a baby – showed up with a new young man. Not boyfriend, though – son. My brother’s, too, although this was the first he knew about it ...</p><p>All of which I made up, apart from the first sentence, which is true (chicken and lamb, quite good). The rest is sort of borrowed from <strong>Transparent</strong> (Amazon Prime), which launched <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/13/transparent-review-season-three-hits-new-highs-as-the-pfeffermans-shine-brighter-than-ever">its third series on Friday</a>. If you haven’t seen seasons one and two, you need to; there is no better television around at the moment. Forget <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/jeremyclarkson">Clarkson and co</a>, this is the reason Amazon needs to be taken seriously as more than just people who send you stuff in oversized packaging. Transparent more than fills its box (the box, I guess); it stuffs it full of life and humanity, so that it spills over into your box – the box of your life. So, yeah, the Pfeffermans kind of are my family right now.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/26/transparent-review-the-best-thing-on-tv-at-the-moment">Continue reading...</a>TransparentTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureMon, 26 Sep 2016 06:10:23 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/26/transparent-review-the-best-thing-on-tv-at-the-momentPhotograph: Merie Wallace/AmazonPhotograph: Merie Wallace/AmazonSam Wollaston2016-09-26T06:10:23ZMacGyver and The Exorcist: smart remakes offer Friday night thrillshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/23/macgyver-exorcist-remakes-geena-davis
<p>The spy who can defuse a bomb with a paper clip, a projectile-vomiting, demonic possession and Geena Davis will start the weekend off right</p><p>Friday night has long been a television wasteland populated by rickety family comedies, tired genre fare, and <a href="http://www.cbs.com/shows/blue_bloods/">Blue Bloods</a> – which has been signing Tom Selleck’s paychecks for the past seven years and only your aunt Connie has noticed. This fall, Friday night gets a little bit of an update with two remakes, but both stick pretty close to what is already working on that night.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/the-exorcist-lethal-weapon-successful-tv-remakes">What The Exorcist and Lethal Weapon get right about TV remakes</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/23/macgyver-exorcist-remakes-geena-davis">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioHorror (TV)Fri, 23 Sep 2016 15:37:42 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/23/macgyver-exorcist-remakes-geena-davisComposite: CBS & FoxComposite: CBS & FoxBrian Moylan2016-09-23T15:37:42ZPitch review – female baseball drama hits it out the parkhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/pitch-review-fox-female-baseball-drama-hits-it-out-the-park
<p>The ambitious tale of the first woman to play in the major league is a dazzling home run but can it sustain its initial promise beyond the premiere?</p><p>There are legitimate reasons to worry about Pitch, a new drama about the first female major league baseball player. It’s one of the best pilots in quite some time but tells a story that’s an undeniably hard sell for some (especially on Fox, which has been struggling of late) and there’s a question mark over whether its deserved audience will tune in. The other concern is that it will struggle to sustain its premise and the excellence of the first episode will turn into an eventual strike out. Remember Smash? Other than its exceptional opener, few do. </p><p>Pitch grabs the audience from the get-go with 23-year-old Ginny Baker (Kylie Bunbury) in the middle of a media maelstrom as she’s about to start in her first game for the San Diego Padres. After five years in the minors, she’s ready to capitalize on her success and so are plenty of others, like her hard-charging manager Amelia (Ali Larter) and the team’s billionaire owner (Bob Balaban), who is not only selling more tickets thanks to her but also trying to crack some glass ceilings.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/pitch-review-fox-female-baseball-drama-hits-it-out-the-park">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioSportBaseballThu, 22 Sep 2016 16:15:30 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/22/pitch-review-fox-female-baseball-drama-hits-it-out-the-parkPhotograph: PRPhotograph: PRBrian Moylan2016-09-22T16:15:30ZDesignated Survivor review – Kiefer Sutherland winds up president of clichehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/designated-survivor-review-kiefer-sutherland
<p>The juicy premise of a lowly politician becoming president after a terrorist attack is mostly squandered in a pilot episode filled with hammy dialogue</p><p>The concept of the “designated survivor” – one member of the president’s staff who sits out of the State of the Union in case the rest of the government is blown to bits – is one that is so delicious that it seems impossible it hasn’t been made into a movie yet. This designated survivor is something that actually happens, but the closest we’ve had from Hollywood is Dave, a movie where the president’s likeness steps in for him unbeknownst to the people so that he can pretend to be president. Creator David Guggenheim (the writer of action movies Safe House and Taken) finally deployed this bit of civics trivia and whipped it up into ABC’s much-hyped new drama. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/19/best-tv-week-fall-premieres-this-is-us-lethal-weapon-macgyver">Best TV of the week: fall series premieres are finally upon us</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/designated-survivor-review-kiefer-sutherland">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureWed, 21 Sep 2016 21:14:14 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/designated-survivor-review-kiefer-sutherlandPhotograph: Ben Mark Holzberg/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Ben Mark Holzberg/Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-09-21T21:14:14ZSpeechless: Minnie Driver's fast-paced sitcom has a lot to sayhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/speechless-abc-minnie-driver-son-cerebral-palsy
<p>The Oscar nominee anchors a new family comedy that features a son with cerebral palsy, but it’s about much more than disability</p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> Speechless</p><p><strong>When does it premiere? </strong>Wednesday 21 September at 8.30pm ET on ABC. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/speechless-abc-minnie-driver-son-cerebral-palsy">Continue reading...</a>US televisionCultureTelevision & radioTelevisionMinnie DriverWed, 21 Sep 2016 15:35:50 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/speechless-abc-minnie-driver-son-cerebral-palsyPhotograph: Adam Taylor/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Adam Taylor/Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-09-21T15:35:50ZLethal Weapon remake: loud, ludicrous and lovablehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/lethal-weapon-remake-loud-ludicrous-loveable
<p>This TV remake has all the car chases, explosions and guns of the original, plus great chemistry between the two leads. Who cares that it doesn’t always make sense? </p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> <a href="https://twitter.com/LethalWeaponFOX?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor">Lethal Weapon</a></p><p><strong>When does it premiere? </strong>Wednesday 21 September at 8pm ET on Fox. Yes, right before <a href="http://www.fox.com/empire">Empire</a>. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/lethal-weapon-remake-loud-ludicrous-loveable">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioWed, 21 Sep 2016 14:34:31 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/lethal-weapon-remake-loud-ludicrous-loveablePhotograph: Richard Foreman/FoxPhotograph: Richard Foreman/FoxBrian Moylan2016-09-21T14:34:31ZThis is Us: manipulative drama is in desperate pursuit of your tearshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/20/this-is-us-milo-ventimiglia-mandy-moore-nbc
<p>Emotions are high – but not high enough – in this new show about seemingly disparate characters. But wait there’s a twist ...</p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> This Is Us</p><p><strong>When does it premiere? </strong>Tuesday 20 September, at 10pm EST </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/20/this-is-us-milo-ventimiglia-mandy-moore-nbc">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevision & radioCultureDramaTelevisionTue, 20 Sep 2016 14:18:11 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/20/this-is-us-milo-ventimiglia-mandy-moore-nbcPhotograph: PRPhotograph: PRBrian Moylan2016-09-20T14:18:11ZThe Good Place: Kristen Bell’s afterlife comedy is simply divinehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/19/the-good-place-kristen-bell-afterlife-comedy
<p>When a bad woman is sent to heaven instead of hell, being the only bad apple doesn’t spoil the bunch, it makes for a great new sitcom</p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> The Good Place<br></p><p><strong>When does it premiere?</strong> There is a 60-minute premiere on Monday 19 September at 10pm ET right after The Voice so it can get plenty of attention. Then it settles into its regular time slot on Thursday at 8.30pm ET, right after Superstore.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/19/the-good-place-kristen-bell-afterlife-comedy">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyComedyMon, 19 Sep 2016 16:20:20 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/19/the-good-place-kristen-bell-afterlife-comedyPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-09-19T16:20:20ZAmerican Horror Story season six review – a scarily shaky starthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/15/american-horror-story-season-six-review-ryan-murphy
<p>This season’s concept was kept secret – and so far, a meta true crime thriller based on a 16th-century disappearance seems more dicey than demonic</p><p><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2012/jan/10/have-you-been-watching-american-horror-story">The first season</a> of <a href="http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/american-horror-story/episodes">American Horror Story</a> no one knew what we were getting ourselves into and it was glorious. There were all sorts of twisty plots coming and going, the past seemed to be as relevant as the present, and cast members were regularly killed off, something that would never be done on a show intended to last many seasons. But once we learned it was an anthology that would reset every year, some of the magic wore off. </p><p>After a few lackluster seasons, <a href="http://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2016/09/american-horror-story-season-6-theme-ryan-murphy">creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk decided to get back to basics</a>. Instead of releasing the theme of the sixth season (like <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2013/oct/29/american-horror-story-coven-best-season">Asylum</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/may/15/american-horror-story-box-set-review">Coven</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/dec/02/american-horror-story-season-four-freak-show-review">Freak Show</a> or <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/oct/07/american-horror-story-fifth-season-hotel-review-lady-gaga">Hotel</a>) they decided to leave it blank because there is nothing as scary as not knowing what is going to happen. No copies were released to the press before the premiere and even the cast list was kept as hush-hush as Donald Trump’s tax returns. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/15/american-horror-story-season-six-review-ryan-murphy">Continue reading...</a>Horror (TV)Television & radioCultureUS televisionTelevisionThu, 15 Sep 2016 14:46:04 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/15/american-horror-story-season-six-review-ryan-murphyPhotograph: Fox TVPhotograph: Fox TVBrian Moylan2016-09-15T14:46:04ZSon of Zorn: the strangest comedy on TVhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/11/son-of-zorn-premiere-fox-comedy
<p>It’s a classic fish-out-of-water tale, except in this case the fish is a hyper-macho cartoon character from the land of Zephyria</p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> <a href="http://www.fox.com/son-of-zorn">Son of Zorn</a>.</p><p><strong>When does it premiere? </strong>Fox is giving the show a “sneak preview” on Sunday 11 September at 8pm ET, right after the NFL game so everyone will be watching. It settles into its regular time slot on Sundays at 8.30pm ET starting the 25rd. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/11/son-of-zorn-premiere-fox-comedy">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioCultureAnimationUS televisionSun, 11 Sep 2016 11:00:00 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/11/son-of-zorn-premiere-fox-comedyPhotograph: FoxPhotograph: FoxBrian Moylan2016-09-11T11:00:00ZOne Mississippi: Tig Notaro bares her scars in intensely dark comedyhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/09/one-mississippi-tig-notaro-dark-comedy-amazon
<p>The comedian draws on her experience of cancer, family trauma and death to create a sitcom some viewers may find hard to take</p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> One Mississippi</p><p><strong>When does it premiere? </strong>All six episodes are <a href="https://www.amazon.com/One-Mississippi/dp/B017APUQCO">currently streaming on Amazon</a>. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/09/one-mississippi-tig-notaro-dark-comedy-amazon">Continue reading...</a>US televisionComedyComedyCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioTig NotaroFri, 09 Sep 2016 14:56:39 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/09/one-mississippi-tig-notaro-dark-comedy-amazonPhotograph: AmazonPhotograph: AmazonBrian Moylan2016-09-09T14:56:39ZQueen Sugar: Oprah’s latest drama is a sweet successhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/06/queen-sugar-oprah-winfrey-own-review
<p>Pairing up with Selma director Ava DuVernay, Winfrey puts a contemplative spin on a family story of a sugar dynasty in the rural south</p><p><strong>What’s the name of this show?</strong> <a href="http://www.queensugarown.tv/">Queen Sugar</a>.</p><p><strong>When does it premiere? </strong>The “two-night premiere” is on 6 and 7 September at 10pm ET on <a href="http://www.oprah.com/app/own-tv.html">OWN</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/06/queen-sugar-oprah-winfrey-own-review">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioCultureUS televisionTelevisionAva DuVernayTue, 06 Sep 2016 16:45:32 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/06/queen-sugar-oprah-winfrey-own-reviewPhotograph: OWNPhotograph: OWNBrian Moylan2016-09-06T16:45:32ZI Love Dick review – a treat for the intellect and the hearthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/19/i-love-dick-review-jill-soloway-chris-krause-amazon
<p>Transparent creator Jill Soloway recasts the cult novel about academics in a love triangle into a show that’s innovative, well-acted and visually sumptuous</p><p>I Love Dick, the latest show by <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/transparent">Transparent</a> creator <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/31/magazine/can-jill-soloway-do-justice-to-the-trans-movement.html">Jill Soloway</a>, boasts many amazing scenes, but the best is a sex fantasy that imagines what media would be like from the female gaze. Movies and TV shows are littered with instances of men dreaming about women they are obsessed with but can’t have – think <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6p8rjz9vqY">Kevin Spacey’s rose-strewn sexcapades in American Beauty </a>– but here, a woman imagines being sexually pleasured by a man in a restaurant bathroom. Rather than naked breasts and breathy seductions, we see waiters carrying plates with stuffed rabbits, a confident guy telepathically intuiting a woman’s needs, and a stoic stock figure of American masculinity filling out a white T-shirt in a way that hasn’t been seen since James Dean’s death. </p><p>The woman is Chris (Kathryn Hahn), a film-maker who has moved to Marfa, Texas, from New York City for the summer while her husband, academic Sylvère (Griffin Dunne), has a residency for the season. The object of Chris’s fixation and frustration is Dick (Kevin Bacon), the charismatic intellectual who selected her husband for the program. Dick describes himself as “post-idea”, but one budding aesthete at a cocktail party tells Chris that Dick’s writing seminar has a two-year waiting list that he’s been on for three years. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/19/i-love-dick-review-jill-soloway-chris-krause-amazon">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioTransparentBooksFri, 19 Aug 2016 16:47:50 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/aug/19/i-love-dick-review-jill-soloway-chris-krause-amazonPhotograph: Patrick WymorePhotograph: Patrick WymoreBrian Moylan2016-08-19T16:47:50ZSouth Park continues US election theme: 'What if you could troll the entire world?'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/south-park-episode-nine-us-election-theme
<p>The writers vowed to take on ‘American decency’ in this season’s penultimate episode and did so while invoking Rick Astley and trolling scandinavians</p><p>Wednesday’s episode of South Park was the ninth in a season-long arc revolving around both the American presidential election and the international problem with trolling. There are two major national arcs: Mr Garrison, in Trumpian form and with Caitlyn Jenner as vice-president, has ascended to the highest office in the land assisted by an infestation of nostalgia-inducing ’Member Berries. The other revolves around Denmark developing a software program (Troll Trace) that will result in everyone’s private internet history becoming public after a Danish icon killed himself after being trolled by Kyle’s dad, Gerald Broflovski.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/10/south-park-spoofs-us-election-trump">South Park spoofs the US election result: 'What have you done? You maniacs!'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/south-park-episode-nine-us-election-theme">Continue reading...</a>South ParkAnimationTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionEpisode recapsThu, 01 Dec 2016 12:33:06 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/south-park-episode-nine-us-election-themePhotograph: Comedy CentralPhotograph: Comedy CentralMegan Carpentier2016-12-01T12:33:06ZWestworld recap: episode nine – Arnold, revealed!https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/westworld-recap-episode-nine-arnold-revealed
<p>As we gear up to the season finale, the revelations are flying at us. With all this flux, I’m just grateful for Maeve’s determination to start the robot revolution<br></p><p><em>Spoiler alert: this blog is published after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/westworld">Westworld</a> </em><em>airs on HBO in the US on Sunday night. Do not read unless you have watched episode nine, which airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday at 9pm.</em></p><p>Right, let’s get this straight. Bernard is Arnold. At least when he’s with Dolores. At other times, he just looks like Arnold but is in fact Bernard, a host created by Ford (in Arnold’s image). Sometimes Bernard acts like Arnold; he questions Ford’s behaviour and suspects him of clandestine tactics. And sometimes Bernard is effectively an extension of Ford, killing at his behest. Bernard also had a child, who was also a host, and a wife, who was only a memory. After briefly overriding his programming to remember events he was under instruction to forget, Bernard is now dead. He dies by his own hand, at the instruction of Ford, who had the ability to override Bernard’s ability to override his programming all along. This ability was given to Ford by Arnold. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/westworld-recap-episode-nine-arnold-revealed">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioCultureWestworldTelevisionUS televisionEpisode recapsMon, 28 Nov 2016 15:48:30 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/westworld-recap-episode-nine-arnold-revealedPhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOPaul MacInnes2016-11-28T15:48:30ZThe Walking Dead: season seven, episode six – Swearhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/walking-dead-season-seven-episode-six-swear
<p>We finally find out what’s become of scavenger hunters Tara and Heath – and they’re in for some killer blows</p><p>There was a body washed up on the beach. Don’t know about you, but I was discombobulated. Had I mistakenly tuned in to Lost? Or that film where Tom Hanks gets unacceptably beardy and bare-chested? No, it was Tara and, if someone didn’t act fast, she was going to get stabbed by a spear-wielding little terror called Rachel. </p><p>I’d forgotten about Tara. But now her story comes back to me. After Rick and his crew offed a bunch of Saviours at a satellite station near the end of season six, she and Heath headed off on a scavenging trip in an RV. As a result, they missed out on the plot developments that have been preoccupying us in season seven. They don’t know that the victory at the satellite station did not exterminate the Saviours but only awoke Negan and his hoods to vengeful fury over the deaths of their fallen comrades. After Tara and Heath headed off on their trip, Negan captured Rick’s gang, beat Glenn and Abraham to death, then put Alexandria’s spirit-crushed survivors to work providing fortnightly tributes to this hellish band of thugs.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/walking-dead-season-seven-episode-six-swear">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThe Walking DeadDramaUS televisionEpisode recapsMon, 28 Nov 2016 11:30:31 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/walking-dead-season-seven-episode-six-swearPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCStuart Jeffries2016-11-28T11:30:31ZWestworld recap: episode eight – this means war!https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/westworld-recap-episode-eight-this-means-war
<p>Will the Man in Black get to the heart of the maze? Will Dolores uncover the truth? And will Maeve make a dash for freedom? We’re so close to getting answers – because the end is nigh</p><p><em>Spoiler alert: this blog is published after <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/westworld">Westworld</a> </em><em>airs on HBO in the US on Sunday night. Do not read unless you have watched episode eight, which airs in the UK on Sky Atlantic on Tuesday at 9pm.</em></p><p>“Wyatt will need you soon.” With its final line a call from a dystopian doctor’s surgery, this week’s episode of Westworld ended on the brink. As Wyatt’s men emerge from the brush to surround the Man in Black, as Maeve gets ready to dash for freedom, as Dolores breaks down where the park was born, we know that the end is coming.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/westworld-recap-episode-eight-this-means-war">Continue reading...</a>WestworldTelevision & radioCultureEpisode recapsUS televisionTelevisionMon, 21 Nov 2016 14:33:38 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/westworld-recap-episode-eight-this-means-warPhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOPaul MacInnes2016-11-21T14:33:38ZThe Walking Dead: season seven, episode five – Go Gettershttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/the-walking-dead-season-seven-episode-five-go-getters
<p>Though we finally got to see what’s become of Maggie, this was the weakest episode of the series. Do we have Negan withdrawal symptoms? We sure do</p><p><em>• Spoiler alert: this blog is published after The Walking Dead airs in the US on Sundays. Do not read unless you have watched season seven episode five, which airs in the UK on Fox on Mondays at 9pm</em></p><p>How fitting that in Movember, The Walking Dead foregrounded the man with the show’s most impressive facial hair. No, I don’t mean Jesus with his totally wrong centre parting, martial arts moves and boring beard. I mean Negan’s leading lickspittle Simon, the hood redeemed by his moustache. That moustache had such a divertingly Southern retro 70s vibe that it was easy to imagine that, before the zombie apocalypse, it had a leading role in an Allman Brothers tribute band. Its previous owners may well have included Dennis Weaver and Burt Reynolds. Was it a dream, or did one of the baddies in The Dukes of Hazzard have its sibling parked on his upper lip? </p><p>Back in the day, TV teemed with guys like Simon – prickly Southern gents with slimeball politesse barely covering their latent savagery. Today, not so much. Because I’m a child of the 70s, I got a Proustian rush every time Simon strutted into shot, his facial hair arriving a split second before the rest of him. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/the-walking-dead-season-seven-episode-five-go-getters">Continue reading...</a>The Walking DeadTelevisionDramaTelevision & radioUS televisionCultureEpisode recapsMon, 21 Nov 2016 12:18:38 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/the-walking-dead-season-seven-episode-five-go-gettersPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCStuart Jeffries2016-11-21T12:18:38ZSaturday Night Live: a lackluster episode as show comes to terms with Trumphttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/20/saturday-night-live-episode-recap-kristen-wiig
<p>Alec Baldwin was more generic than ever in his role, but Weekend Update offered bright spots – and Kristen Wiig gave it her all</p><p>After last week’s Dave Chapelle-fronted <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/13/saturday-night-live-dave-chappelle-kate-mckinnon">post-election episode</a>, Saturday Night Live, is, like so many people around the world, coming to terms with what a Donald Trump presidency actually means. In this week’s cold open, Alec Baldwin returned as the president-elect, a flailing, unprepared man with no moral convictions or desire to do anything even remotely difficult. </p><p>Without a specific debate performance to mimic, Baldwin’s Trump seems even more generic and unmemorable. As she so often does, Kate McKinnon stole the show with her low-key Kellyanne Conway, a woman uneasily coming to terms with her role in Trump’s victory. It gave credence to <a href="https://theringer.com/saturday-night-live-donald-trump-kate-mckinnon-226695b1759d#.zs5hyinx5">the Ringer’s theory</a> that, despite Hillary Clinton’s loss, McKinnon should be the one taking on the presidential impression next year. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/20/saturday-night-live-episode-recap-kristen-wiig">Continue reading...</a>Saturday Night LiveTelevision & radioEpisode recapsUS televisionCultureTelevisionSun, 20 Nov 2016 14:21:31 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/20/saturday-night-live-episode-recap-kristen-wiigPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesPhotograph: NBC/Getty ImagesElise Czajkowski2016-11-20T14:21:31ZSamantha Bee on Trump's cabinet list: 'Deplorables, zealots and extremists'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/15/samantha-bee-donald-trump-cabinet-full-frontal
<p>The Full Frontal host criticized the president-elect’s rumored choices for the White House and detailed their inexperience and extreme views<br></p><p>Samantha Bee has criticized Donald Trump’s first confirmed cabinet choices and rumored candidates as a “parade of misfits, deplorables, zealots and extremists”.</p><p>On the latest episode of Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, the comedian joked that “Donald Trump is assembling a White House staff after Barack Obama has told him that’s a thing presidents have to do.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/15/samantha-bee-donald-trump-cabinet-full-frontal">Continue reading...</a>Samantha BeeTelevision & radioCultureUS televisionComedyComedyTelevisionDonald TrumpUS newsUS politicsEpisode recapsTue, 15 Nov 2016 15:50:30 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/15/samantha-bee-donald-trump-cabinet-full-frontalPhotograph: YouTubePhotograph: YouTubeBenjamin Lee2016-11-15T15:50:30ZJohn Oliver on Donald Trump: ‘A Klan-backed misogynist internet troll’ – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/nov/15/john-oliver-on-donald-trump-a-klan-backed-misogynist-internet-troll-video
<p>Comedian John Oliver urges viewers not to normalise a Trump presidency. In his first post-election edition of The Last Week Tonight the host expresses his dismay: ‘Instead of showing our daughters that they could someday be president, America proved that no grandpa is too racist to become leader of the free world’</p><ul><li><strong>WARNING: Strong language</strong></li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/john-oliver-trump-wins-election-last-week-tonight">John Oliver on Trump: ‘A Klan-backed misogynist internet troll’ is president</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/nov/15/john-oliver-on-donald-trump-a-klan-backed-misogynist-internet-troll-video">Continue reading...</a>John OliverDonald TrumpUS elections 2016Hillary ClintonTrump administrationUS television industryHBOMediaTelevision & radioUS politicsUS televisionCultureTelevisionTue, 15 Nov 2016 09:00:10 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/nov/15/john-oliver-on-donald-trump-a-klan-backed-misogynist-internet-troll-videoPhotograph: YouTubePhotograph: YouTubeGuardian Staff2016-11-15T09:00:10ZJimmy Fallon shocked by David Blaine's 'human aquarium' trick on Tonight Show – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/video/2016/nov/14/jimmy-fallon-shocked-by-david-blaines-human-aquarium-trick-on-tonight-show-video
<p>Comedian Jimmy Fallon and house band the Roots are left stunned on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/latenight?gl=GB&amp;hl=en-GB">NBC’s The Tonight Show </a>after magician David Blaine performs his ‘human aquarium’ trick, in which he summons a live frog from his stomach </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/video/2016/nov/14/jimmy-fallon-shocked-by-david-blaines-human-aquarium-trick-on-tonight-show-video">Continue reading...</a>Jimmy FallonDavid BlaineCultureNBCUS televisionTelevisionMon, 14 Nov 2016 07:06:12 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/culture/video/2016/nov/14/jimmy-fallon-shocked-by-david-blaines-human-aquarium-trick-on-tonight-show-videoPhotograph: The Tonight Show with Jimmy FallonPhotograph: The Tonight Show with Jimmy FallonGuardian Staff2016-11-14T07:06:12Z'My biggest concern is that he meant what he said': Simpsons writer on predicting Trump – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/nov/10/simpsons-prediction-james-l-brooks-donald-trump-video
<p>James L Brooks, a writer on The Simpsons, discusses the series’ prediction 16 years ago that Donald Trump would be president. In the Bart to the Future episode, first aired on 19 March 2000, Lisa Simpson becomes president and then refers to a previous Trump term. In 2015 The Simpsons revisited the subject in a short, Trumptastic Voyage</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/nov/10/simpsons-predicted-president-trump-back-to-the-future">Back to the future: how the Simpsons and others predicted President Trump</a><br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/nov/10/simpsons-prediction-james-l-brooks-donald-trump-video">Continue reading...</a>The SimpsonsDonald TrumpWorld newsAnimationUS televisionTelevisionThe SunUS newsCultureThu, 10 Nov 2016 12:47:04 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/nov/10/simpsons-prediction-james-l-brooks-donald-trump-videoPhotograph: --Photograph: --Guardian Staff2016-11-10T12:47:04ZJohn Oliver offers Emmy to Donald Trump – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/25/john-oliver-offers-emmy-to-donald-trump-video
<p>John Oliver mocks Donald Trump on his HBO programme<a href="http://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver"> Last Week Tonight</a>. Oliver offers Trump his own Emmy if he loses the election. The presenter’s comments come after Trump claimed the Emmy awards were rigged after his reality television programme The Apprentice didn’t win a prize. Oliver says the Emmy is ideal for the republican presidential candidate because ‘it’s a woman, it’s gold and it’s proportionate to his tiny hands’<br></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/john-oliver-donald-trump-last-week-tonight">John Oliver challenges Trump on election results: ‘Take the bet, Donald’</a><br></li><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/oct/21/trump-clinton-speech-jeered-insults-new-york-fundraiser-video">Trump booed for calling Clinton ‘corrupt’ at charity dinner</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/25/john-oliver-offers-emmy-to-donald-trump-video">Continue reading...</a>John OliverDonald TrumpUS elections 2016Television & radioUS televisionTelevisionUS politicsComedyComedyCultureTue, 25 Oct 2016 07:11:20 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/25/john-oliver-offers-emmy-to-donald-trump-videoPhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOGuardian Staff2016-10-25T07:11:20ZBarack Obama returns to Jimmy Kimmel to read more mean tweets – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/oct/25/barack-obama-returns-to-jimmy-kimmel-to-read-more-mean-tweets-video
<p>With just two weeks to go until the US election, the president returns to Jimmy Kimmel Live! to reprise his role in the show’s classic segment: ‘Celebrities Read Mean Tweets About Themselves’. Again, the burns weren’t too bad, but one from a certain @realDonaldTrump did slip through, and Obama had the perfect response</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/oct/25/barack-obama-returns-to-jimmy-kimmel-to-read-more-mean-tweets-video">Continue reading...</a>Barack ObamaUS politicsDonald TrumpJimmy KimmelUS newsUS televisionTelevisionTue, 25 Oct 2016 05:19:48 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/oct/25/barack-obama-returns-to-jimmy-kimmel-to-read-more-mean-tweets-videoPhotograph: Jimmy Kimmel LivePhotograph: Jimmy Kimmel LiveGuardian Staff2016-10-25T05:19:48ZSaturday Night Live: Hanks joins Baldwin in final debate spoof – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/23/saturday-night-live-snl-tom-hanks-alec-baldwin-final-debate-spoof-video
<p>Tom Hanks steps in as moderator Chris Wallace in a <a href="http://www.nbc.com/saturday-night-live">Saturday Night Live</a> parody of the final presidential debate. Alec Baldwin remained as Donald Trump whereas Kate McKinnon continued to develop her inspired Hillary Clinton <br></p><ul><li>Read: <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/23/snl-saturday-night-live-tom-hanks-alec-baldwin-donald-trump-hillary-clinton">SNL: Hanks makes American dads great again as Baldwin’s Trump tics on</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/23/saturday-night-live-snl-tom-hanks-alec-baldwin-final-debate-spoof-video">Continue reading...</a>Saturday Night LiveTom HanksAlec BaldwinHillary ClintonDonald TrumpTelevision & radioNBCUS elections 2016US televisionTelevisionSun, 23 Oct 2016 12:36:22 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/23/saturday-night-live-snl-tom-hanks-alec-baldwin-final-debate-spoof-videoPhotograph: Tom Hanks as Chris Wallace Saturday Night Live/NBC Saturday Night LivePhotograph: Tom Hanks as Chris Wallace Saturday Night Live/NBC Saturday Night LiveGuardian Staff2016-10-23T12:36:22ZJohn Oliver scolds Republicans over reaction to Trump groping tape – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/11/john-oliver-scolds-republicans-over-reaction-to-trump-groping-tape-video
<p>John Oliver ridicules Republicans John McCain and Paul Ryan over their reactions to Donald Trump’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/07/donald-trump-leaked-recording-women">controversial comments about women</a>, saying ‘this is on you’. Speaking on Monday evening on <a href="https://www.youtube.com/user/LastWeekTonight">HBO’s Last Week Tonight</a>, Oliver says Republicans have continued to support Trump despite his ‘heinous’ behaviour</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/10/john-oliver-trump-groping-tape-last-week-tonight">‘This is on you’: John Oliver ridicules Republicans over Trump groping tape </a><br></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/11/john-oliver-scolds-republicans-over-reaction-to-trump-groping-tape-video">Continue reading...</a>John OliverDonald TrumpUS elections 2016US newsUS politicsTelevision & radioUS televisionCultureTue, 11 Oct 2016 09:54:21 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/oct/11/john-oliver-scolds-republicans-over-reaction-to-trump-groping-tape-videoPhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOGuardian Staff2016-10-11T09:54:21ZStephen Colbert roasts Donald Trump's 'lies' after presidential debate – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/sep/28/stephen-colbert-roasts-donald-trumps-lies-after-presidential-debate-video
<p>Stephen Colbert, the host of The Late Show, was among <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/27/donald-trump-debate-stephen-colbert-trevor-noah-seth-meyers">many US late-night TV hosts to roast Donald Trump</a> after his performance against Hillary Clinton in the first presidential debate. Colbert jokes that ‘you can use Trump’s lies to tell you if your microwave popcorn is done’, after Politico analysed a week’s worth of Trump’s speeches and found that the Republican nominee averaged one falsehood every three minutes and 15 seconds<br></p><ul><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMtFAi84ehTSYSE9XoHefig">Watch more videos on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert YouTube channel</a></li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/sep/28/stephen-colbert-roasts-donald-trumps-lies-after-presidential-debate-video">Continue reading...</a>US televisionUS elections 2016Stephen ColbertTelevisionTelevision & radioDonald TrumpUS politicsUS newsWorld newsWed, 28 Sep 2016 03:08:23 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2016/sep/28/stephen-colbert-roasts-donald-trumps-lies-after-presidential-debate-videoPhotograph: CBSPhotograph: CBSGuardian Staff2016-09-28T03:08:23ZDonald Trump ‘reveals’ medical records in Dr Oz teaser – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/sep/14/donald-trump-dr-oz-show-medical-records-video
<p>Donald Trump appears to ‘reveal’ his medical records on the Dr Oz Show in a preview clip released by the show’s production studio on Wednesday. In the short clip, Trump asks the crowd if they want to see his medical reports, before producing two letters from his pocket, which he says are copies of his physical and a medical report from the Lenox Hill hospital. Trump then gives the letters to Dr Mehmet Oz for analysis. The full interview is set to air on Thursday</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/sep/14/donald-trump-dr-oz-show-medical-records-video">Continue reading...</a>Donald TrumpUS newsUS elections 2016US televisionUS politicsWed, 14 Sep 2016 21:21:15 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/us-news/video/2016/sep/14/donald-trump-dr-oz-show-medical-records-videoPhotograph: ZOCO PRODUCTIONS, LLCPhotograph: ZOCO PRODUCTIONS, LLCGuardian Staff2016-09-14T21:21:15ZRyan Lochte's Dancing With the Stars debut targeted by protesters – videohttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2016/sep/13/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protesters-video
<p>US swimmer Ryan Lochte’s debut on ABC’s Dancing With the Stars is interrupted on Monday, as protesters wearing anti-Lochte T-shirts rush the stage. The protest happens as Lochte, notorious for urinating at a gas station in Rio during this summer’s Olympics, is hearing feedback from judges on his performance</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2016/sep/13/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-interrupted-protester">Ryan Lochte’s Dancing with the Stars debut interrupted by protesters</a> </li></ul> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2016/sep/13/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protesters-video">Continue reading...</a>Ryan LochteTelevisionTelevision & radioSwimmingUS televisionCultureSportTue, 13 Sep 2016 10:29:21 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2016/sep/13/ryan-lochte-dancing-with-the-stars-protesters-videoPhotograph: Eric McCandless/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Eric McCandless/Getty ImagesGuardian Staff2016-09-13T10:29:21ZTV for the fake news generation: why Westworld is the defining show of 2016https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/07/why-westworld-is-the-defining-show-of-2016
<p>HBO’s sci-fi hit is an ambiguous, amoral tale pored over online by people looking for meaning. If that isn’t a show for our times, I don’t know what is </p><p>Westworld is a hit. Viewing figures <a href="http:// http://deadline.com/2016/12/westworld-finale-ratings-season-high-drama-most-watched-hbo-first-season-series-1201864657/">released this week</a> confirmed that the first season of HBO’s sci-fi western drama received a bigger audience than any other debut in the channel’s history. The same applies in the UK with Sky Atlantic. In the past seven days Westworld has been nominated at the Writers Guild of America awards, with Golden Globes sure to follow. Its 10-episode run has been marked by an endless stream of online conversation and content. </p><p>By any definition it has gone well. But I’d go further and say that Westworld is the defining piece of TV in 2016. Game of Thones may be a bigger phenomenon. Bake Off may have gripped Britain as it looked for a post-Brexit hug. But no other show, intentionally or otherwise, seems to me to have been so markedly a product of its time. (Ok, maybe the news.) </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/07/why-westworld-is-the-defining-show-of-2016">Continue reading...</a>WestworldTelevision & radioCultureTelevisionWed, 07 Dec 2016 08:16:54 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/07/why-westworld-is-the-defining-show-of-2016Photograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOPaul MacInnes2016-12-07T08:16:54ZMariah’s World: stilettos and meme-friendly meltdownshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/mariah-carey-reality-show-marias-world
<p>Between the stilettos, sofa soliloquies and meme-friendly meltdowns, Mariah Carey’s new fly-on-the-wall show is rewriting the rules of reality television</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2016/apr/16/why-i-love-mariah-carey">Why I love… Mariah Carey</a> </p><p>Queen of everything Mariah Carey is tottering her way on to reality TV in four-inch heels. But Mariah’s World is no bog-standard fly-on-the-wall affair – as the trailer promises, it’s an “eight-part event of global proportions”. Spoiler alert: this diva doesn’t do things by halves. With X Factor bereft after Honey G’s exit and Carol Vorderman braying on about her “bush cock” in I’m A Celebrity, escapist (or as the haters might call it, trash) telly needs an intervention. Make way, then, for the sedan chair hoisted by half-naked dancers. On it lies Mariah’s World, rewriting the rules of reality TV. Here’s how the one-woman show is revamping the genre…</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/mariah-carey-reality-show-marias-world">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionMariah CareyCultureTelevision & radioTue, 06 Dec 2016 09:00:07 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/mariah-carey-reality-show-marias-worldPhotograph: James Dimmock/E! EntertainmentPhotograph: James Dimmock/E! EntertainmentHannah Verdier2016-12-06T09:00:07ZWestworld finale: even with the spot-on fan theories we're still left guessinghttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/03/westworld-finale-review-hbo
<p>Most of the storyline might have all been guessed online, but as the finale approaches the show’s creators – like Dr Ford – still have a few cards to play </p><ul><li><strong>Spoiler alert: </strong>beware! Major Westworld plot points are revealed in this blog. Do not read unless you are completely up to date</li></ul><p>On the eve of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/dec/02/chi-raq-ricky-gervais-last-guardian-westworld">the first season finale of HBO’s Westworld</a>, I find myself looking ahead, past the episode right in front of me to as-yet unexplored territory. That reaction seems to be the norm with this show. Better to speculate on what’s next than to luxuriate in the now. Television shows often toy with their audience by giving them only part of the ultimate picture, or swerving into unexpected storytelling territory mid-stream, but Westworld is unique in how committed it is to keeping its fans in the dark. How long can the writers hope to maintain this shell game approach to plot and character?</p><p>Unlike similar puzzle box shows such as Lost or Twin Peaks that have a central mystery (what is the island/who killed Laura Palmer?) Westworld has a variety of micro-mysteries to answer. Most of them have been solved already, and most of them were deduced by <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/westworld-fan-theories-are-the-future-of-tv">the hive mind of internet fandom</a>. People pegged Bernard for a host weeks ago. They also correctly guessed that he was a copy of Arnold. Each week, more evidence appears for the pet theory of some Westworld fans: that we are watching two separate timelines divided by 30 years. Westworld is barreling towards resolution, at least for the issues we are aware of. We’ve been told that there are <a draggable="true" href="http://www.ew.com/article/2016/09/08/westworld-plan">five seasons planned out</a>, but the claustrophobia of a show set in a theme park that exists outside of time makes it hard to envision that plan.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/03/westworld-finale-review-hbo">Continue reading...</a>WestworldTelevision & radioCultureSat, 03 Dec 2016 14:00:23 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/03/westworld-finale-review-hboPhotograph: 2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllPhotograph: 2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllDave Schilling2016-12-03T14:00:23ZIt bites: why I'm giving up on The Walking Deadhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/29/the-walking-dead-why-im-giving-up-on-the-zombie-apocalypse
<p>The zombie apocalypse has never been so dull. This season isn’t a slow-build, it’s a soporific endurance test – and I’ve had enough</p><p>You’re not enjoying this season of The Walking Dead. You can’t be. It’s physically impossible, because it’s the most thankless six episodes of television I can recall seeing. And I can remember <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2011/oct/23/tony-jordan-interview-bbc-eldorado">Eldorado</a>.<br></p><p>Viewers know how The Walking Dead works by now: it starts big, percolates, stalls until you start to tire, then builds, and finally explodes, and soon all is forgiven. This is the formula that, over six years, has turned a humble genre show about mulched zombie craniums into something my – and possibly your – mum watches. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/29/the-walking-dead-why-im-giving-up-on-the-zombie-apocalypse">Continue reading...</a>The Walking DeadDramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioTue, 29 Nov 2016 14:48:45 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/29/the-walking-dead-why-im-giving-up-on-the-zombie-apocalypsePhotograph: Gene Page/AMCPhotograph: Gene Page/AMCLuke Holland2016-11-29T14:48:45ZThe Simpsons Thanksgiving marathon: the 25 best episodes to gorge onhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/the-simpsons-25-best-episodes-guide-thanksgiving
<p>To mark FXX’s 600-show marathon this holiday weekend here’s our must-see episodes guide, from Homer’s brush with God to a vision quest with Johnny Cash</p><p>“The Simpsons is television,” the critic Matt Zoller Seitz <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/07/the-simpsons-greatest-tv-show-of-all-time">observed</a>, and he’s right. In many ways, it’s a more accurate portrait of the fluid, heterogeneous United States than any novel, film or play could hope to be. At more than 600 episodes and 28 seasons, the scope of the show has been huge and over two weeks, the cable network FXX will air every episode of the show back-to-back-to-back, ending on 7 December. We’ve picked the 25 best episodes of its lengthy run for your consideration.</p><p>The concentration of incredible writing talent in the show’s golden years means that a lot of these are from the same few seasons in the 1990s, but they remain remarkably timely, quotable, and uncomfortably accurate in their portrayal of the huge swath of America that gets lost in the cracks in so much coastal culture.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/the-simpsons-25-best-episodes-guide-thanksgiving">Continue reading...</a>The SimpsonsTelevisionUS televisionCultureAnimationTelevision & radioThu, 24 Nov 2016 18:00:40 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/the-simpsons-25-best-episodes-guide-thanksgivingPhotograph: Everett/REX/ShutterstockPhotograph: Everett/REX/ShutterstockSam Thielman in New York2016-11-24T18:00:40ZTV for hipsters: how two new shows are trying to appeal to the cool kidshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/22/hipster-tv-millennials-search-party-great-indoors
<p>Search Party and The Great Indoors are both centered around kale-crunching, VHS-watching millennials but only one of them gets it right</p><p>The term “hipster” is bandied about so much in the modern vernacular that it, much like the word “literally”, has literally lost all meaning. In the 90s, being a hipster entailed wearing horn-rimmed glasses and sweaters while listening to Pavement. In the 90s, hipsters <em>looked</em> like hipsters. But now everyone, up to and including people who were born in 1995, dresses like they attended Lollapalooza in 1995. If everyone is a hipster now, is anyone a hipster?</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/cities/2015/oct/26/what-south-park-teaches-us-about-gentrification">10 things South Park has taught us about gentrification</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/22/hipster-tv-millennials-search-party-great-indoors">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyComedyTue, 22 Nov 2016 15:20:53 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/22/hipster-tv-millennials-search-party-great-indoorsComposite: CBS & TBSComposite: CBS & TBSMegan Koester2016-11-22T15:20:53ZWhat Black Mirror, Her and the near-future genre tell us about tomorrowhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/21/black-mirror-her-george-orwell-near-future-sci-fi-tv
<p>Taking after George Orwell and JG Ballard, some of the most prophetic and disturbing fiction about the near future continues to be made on TV and film</p><p>“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking 13.” The first line of George Orwell’s 1984 immediately places you in a world that is different – but not too different. Everything up to the end of the sentence is completely normal; it’s an everyday April, bright and cold and the clocks are ringing. The only unusual touch is that last word, “13”. The future, Big Brother and all, isn’t far from us. Only about an hour, in fact.</p><p>1984 is an example of near-future science fiction – narratives that extrapolate from current technology and society to think about what life could be like in 10 years, or a year, or an hour. Television shows including <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/black-mirror-review-charlie-brooker-nightmare-sterile-world-is-only-five-minutes-away">Black Mirror</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/apr/18/orphan-black-bbc-america-seasons-one-and-two">Orphan Black</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/30/humans-new-series-two-gemma-chan">Humans</a> and films such as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/video/2013/nov/29/her-joaquin-phoenix-trailer-spike-jonze-video">Her</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2015/jan/25/ex-machina-review-mark-kermode-alex-garland-vikander">Ex Machina</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/mar/14/ben-wheatley-jg-ballard-high-rise">High Rise</a> (which was adapted from near-future master JG Ballard) don’t take warp-speed flights to distant stars. They just take a step or two into the screen we’re already looking at. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/21/black-mirror-her-george-orwell-near-future-sci-fi-tv">Continue reading...</a>Black MirrorJG BallardGeorge OrwellTelevision & radioCultureCharlie BrookerHerHumansFilmMon, 21 Nov 2016 13:00:07 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/21/black-mirror-her-george-orwell-near-future-sci-fi-tvComposite: Allstar, AP, Channel $ & NetflixComposite: Allstar, AP, Channel $ & NetflixNoah Berlatsky2016-11-21T13:00:07ZTales of Tyrion: what could a Game of Thrones spinoff series look like?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/game-of-thrones-possible-spin-offs-tyrion-george-rr-martin
<p>George RR Martin has been talking up the prospect of a spinoff for the HBO hit, and there’s a lot of material to choose from. Here are five possible directions</p><p><em>Spoiler alert: this blog contains spoilers about the TV series Game of Thrones</em></p><p>The television spinoff can be a mixed bag: for every Better Call Saul and Frasier there’s a Cleveland Show or Joanie loves Chachi. But in the case of Game of Thrones, creator George RR Martin has made it clear the future is not so dark and full of terrors.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/game-of-thrones-possible-spin-offs-tyrion-george-rr-martin">Continue reading...</a>Game of ThronesTelevisionGeorge RR MartinBooksCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionHBOFri, 18 Nov 2016 20:31:37 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/game-of-thrones-possible-spin-offs-tyrion-george-rr-martinPhotograph: HBO/2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllPhotograph: HBO/2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllBen Child2016-11-18T20:31:37ZRip it up and start again: can shows like The Affair survive constant reinvention?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-affair-homeland-american-horror-story-tv-reinvention
<p>To avoid running out of steam, TV makers are coming up with ways to recharge potentially stale storylines – but so much change can make it hard to keep up</p><p>It’s hard to keep the attention of TV viewers. If there’s not a dedicated fanbase built early on whose appetite is whetted between seasons, as there was with Game of Thrones for example, it can be difficult for shows to bring the audience back. The solution for some series has been to repeatedly reinvent themselves, offering a new entry point with each subsequent season. But does it work? Well, sometimes. </p><p>The Affair, which returns to Showtime on 20 November with its third season, cast off in 2014 with an intriguing premise: each episode showcased the same scenes from two viewpoints – one from married novelist Noah Solloway (Dominic West) and the other from struggling waitress Alison Lockhart (Ruth Wilson). As the inaugural season unfolded, we got to see how differently two people can view the same thing. The show, created by Sarah Treem and Hagai Levi, was a lesson in perspective and narrative form. It felt <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/14/the-affair-dominic-west-ruth-wilson-long-island">compelling because it was original</a> and duly won awards because of it. It also unveiled a central mystery – the murder of a secondary character – which the show <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/may/28/the-affair-is-compelling-television-but-will-we-ever-get-the-truth">refused to solve in its first 10 episodes</a>. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-affair-homeland-american-horror-story-tv-reinvention">Continue reading...</a>US televisionDominic WestRuth WilsonCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioWestworldGame of ThronesHomelandFri, 18 Nov 2016 14:00:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-affair-homeland-american-horror-story-tv-reinventionPhotograph: Mark Schafer/ShowtimePhotograph: Mark Schafer/ShowtimeEmily Zemler2016-11-18T14:00:19ZFrom Westworld to Doctor Who: when fan theories come truehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/16/westworld-doctor-who-when-fan-theories-come-true
<p>Did you call it? After the big reveal in Westworld, here are the best TV show secrets outed by fans – including some so great they were stolen by the writers</p><p><em tabindex="-1">Spoiler alert: this article contains references to episode seven of Westworld. Do not read on if you haven’t watched. </em></p><p>Fan theories give viewers a sense of control over their favourite show; an investment in the narrative that transcends passive viewing, gamifying TV to the extent that, if your theory turns out to be true, you can “win”. You can beat the writers. The other fans. You – yes, YOU – can be champion of the entire internet. Well, Reddit. Well, one distressingly niche Subreddit. But a win’s a win.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/16/westworld-doctor-who-when-fan-theories-come-true">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioWestworldLostDramaFantasyUS televisionDoctor WhoWed, 16 Nov 2016 10:35:23 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/nov/16/westworld-doctor-who-when-fan-theories-come-truePhotograph: 2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllPhotograph: 2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllLuke Holland2016-11-16T10:35:23ZIs the Cecil the most haunted hotel in Los Angeles?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/the-cecil-haunted-hotel-los-angeles
<p>It played host to serial killers, including the Hillside Strangler, and a death that inspired American Horror Story. Welcome to the most infamous hotel in LA</p><p>It used to be called <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Hotel_(Los_Angeles)">the Cecil</a> and its blood-drenched history inspired the 2015 season of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/American-Horror-Story-Seaons-5/dp/B0169C9MOW">American Horror Story</a>. Drug addicts, serial killers, “accidental” slips from very high windows all feature in the popular series and have their roots in the real-life hotel’s past. The Cecil has a dark legacy dating all the way back to the Great Depression.</p><p>The <a href="http://www.blumhouse.com/2015/11/05/the-gruesome-tale-of-the-real-hotel-american-horror-story-is-based-on-the-hotel-cecil/">Black Dahlia</a> was rumored to have had her last drink at the hotel bar before she turned up dead a few miles away. In 1962, <a href="https://roadtrippers.com/stories/the-history-of-the-cecil-hotel-is-so-dark-and-gory-that-some-say-all-600-rooms-are-cursed?lat-40.80972&amp;Ing=-96.67528&amp;z=5">Pauline Otton</a> jumped from a ninth-floor window, killing herself and an unsuspecting <a href="http://www.news.com.au/travel/travel-updates/before-the-ghost-photo-the-disturbing-gruesome-past-of-the-cecil-hotel/story-fnizu68q-1226813853089">George Giannini</a> when she landed on top of him as he walked down the sidewalk. That same year, <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/21/us/california-horror-hotel/">Julia Moore</a> jumped from an eighth floor window, and Helen Gurnee from the seventh floor in 1954. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/the-cecil-haunted-hotel-los-angeles">Continue reading...</a>US televisionCultureLos AngelesTelevisionTelevision & radioMon, 14 Nov 2016 15:00:50 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/the-cecil-haunted-hotel-los-angelesPhotograph: FX Networks/Courtesy Everet/REPhotograph: FX Networks/Courtesy Everet/REJordan Riefe2016-11-14T15:00:50ZThe new normal: why television has chosen to humanize sex workershttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/television-sex-workers-porn-the-girlfriend-experience
<p>Shows about gigolos, high-class escorts and porn stars hint at a new wave of small-screen attempts to offer an introspective look at the sex industry</p><p>The proliferation of pornography in the modern age has normalized both the act of sex and the choice to make it one’s primary profession. Almost all but the most conservative would agree that there is no longer any shame in selling one’s body for money, presumably because there are more opportunities than ever to do so. Sex is a hot (pun unfortunately intended) commodity – a ceaseless supply must therefore exist in order to keep up with demand.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/apr/27/sex-tv-television-girls-sex-and-the-city-game-of-thrones">Sex and the TV: how television evolved from pregnancy scandals to 'pegging'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/television-sex-workers-porn-the-girlfriend-experience">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionSexUS televisionCultureLife and styleTelevision & radioProstitutionSex tradePornographyMon, 14 Nov 2016 10:00:44 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/television-sex-workers-porn-the-girlfriend-experiencePhotograph: Kerry Hayes/2016 Starz Entertainment, LLCPhotograph: Kerry Hayes/2016 Starz Entertainment, LLCMegan Koester2016-11-14T10:00:44ZAfter Insecure and Broad City, which web series should move to TV next?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/08/six-web-series-that-should-be-on-tv-insecure-broad-city
<p>We’ve seen a wealth of online series make the leap to traditional channels in recent times. Here are six more that could follow them</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/issa-rae-insecure-misadventures-of-awkward-black-girl-hbo-tv-comedy">Issa Rae: from Awkward Black Girl to HBO star</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/08/six-web-series-that-should-be-on-tv-insecure-broad-city">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureBroad CityTue, 08 Nov 2016 09:00:10 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/08/six-web-series-that-should-be-on-tv-insecure-broad-cityPhotograph: YoutubePhotograph: YoutubeHannah J Davies2016-11-08T09:00:10ZWild wild Westworld: why fan theories are the future of TVhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/westworld-fan-theories-are-the-future-of-tv
<p>Diving into Westworld’s booming subreddit, with its complex tangle of analysis and predictions, led me to a startling realisation: soon, all shows could be written by fans themselves</p><p>There’s a case to be made that the theories about Westworld are more interesting than the actual show. As you will likely already know, the new HBO drama is about a near-future theme park where robots simulate characters from the wild west and human guests pay to beat the bots, shag the bots and slit their throats. The guests aren’t troubled by inflicting such horrors on their victims because hey, they’re just robots. But then those very same robots start forming memories and, let me tell you, they’re not remembering the good stuff.</p><p> This week <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/westworld-hbo-villains-ai-robots">Sasha Frere Jones</a> has written persuasively on the limits of such a dramatic conceit. It’s difficult to identify with robots, for example. And if those robots were to develop “consciousness”, could we really empathise with human characters so wantonly slicing them up? Generally speaking, these two qualities – characters you can identify with, a sense of who the ‘good guys’ are – are fundamental to a successful drama. But what if they weren’t?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/westworld-fan-theories-are-the-future-of-tv">Continue reading...</a>WestworldTelevision & radioTelevisionCultureThu, 03 Nov 2016 16:47:14 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/westworld-fan-theories-are-the-future-of-tvPhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOPaul MacInnes2016-11-03T16:47:14ZThe writers of FX's Atlanta: 'We’re not interested in being Sesame Street'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/02/atlanta-fx-donald-glover-bill-oreilly-black-lives
<p>The team behind one of fall’s most talked about shows tells the Guardian about being inspired by a Bill O’Reilly interview and how they portrayed black lives</p><p>The writing team behind Atlanta created one of fall’s highest-rated shows and managed to squeeze in storylines about drug tests, baby urine and a transracial teenager called Harrison. Jamal Olori, Stephen Glover and Stefani Robinson, along with Donald Glover and Fam Udeorji, wrote Atlanta and they discussed some of the inspirations behind the show and where its most talked about moments came from.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/02/atlanta-fx-donald-glover-bill-oreilly-black-lives">Continue reading...</a>AtlantaTelevision & radioCultureUS televisionTelevisionFXWed, 02 Nov 2016 17:00:25 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/02/atlanta-fx-donald-glover-bill-oreilly-black-livesPhotograph: FXPhotograph: FXInterviews by Lanre Bakare2016-11-02T17:00:25ZThe Good, the Meh and the Ugly: are Westworld's villains firing blanks?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/westworld-hbo-villains-ai-robots
<p>Game of Thrones had the depravity of King Joffrey and Ramsay Bolton, but HBO’s new hope depends on something too abstract to get the blood pumping</p><p>The 1973 film Westworld, directed and written by Michael Crichton, was a crude movie about crude machines staffing a depraved theme park. Crichton’s pleasure robots were either sexy toasters or bad toasters. When they malfunctioned, the machines simply played out their protocols and killed all but one guest. Remember how infected web cams and smart fridges brought down a chunk of the Internet last week? That, but with bullets. HBO’s serial television expansion of Westworld’s Cowboy-Guignol is staffed with robots beyond the toaster stage, androids flirting with consciousness. Considering the violence in play, this isn’t necessarily an improvement. If Westworld doesn’t hit an unexpected fork in the plot soon, it could go down as a mild update of the bloodbath from Game of Thrones’s first season. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/westworld-recap-episode-five-hold-on-to-your-hats-its-dolores-the-lawless">Westworld recap: episode five – hold on to your hats! It's Dolores the lawless</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/westworld-hbo-villains-ai-robots">Continue reading...</a>WestworldGame of ThronesTelevision & radioCultureMon, 31 Oct 2016 17:40:51 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/westworld-hbo-villains-ai-robotsPhotograph: 2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllPhotograph: 2016 Home Box Office, Inc. AllSasha Frere-Jones2016-10-31T17:40:51ZThe 90s sitcoms that should never be rebootedhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/90s-sitcoms-reboots-will-and-grace-full-house
<p>From Will &amp; Grace to Fuller House and Girl Meets World, reboots are all the rage – but we can think of a few shows that should be on TV’s ‘do not resuscitate’ list</p><p>After their <a href="https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&amp;ion=1&amp;espv=2&amp;ie=UTF-8#q=will%2520and%2520grace%2520clinton%2520guardian">popular video supporting Hillary Clinton</a> launched earlier this month, the stars and creators of Will &amp; Grace are <a href="http://variety.com/2016/tv/news/will-and-grace-revival-nbc-1201902632/">reportedly in talks with NBC</a> to bring the show back to primetime. An updated version of the big gay sitcom would follow a slew of 90s sitcom revivals like Girl Meets World, the reboot of Boy Meets World, and Fuller House, a renovation to the original Full House that Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen built. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/greatest-halloween-tv-episodes-ever">Small scream: the 10 greatest Halloween TV episodes ever</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/90s-sitcoms-reboots-will-and-grace-full-house">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioMon, 31 Oct 2016 15:51:37 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/90s-sitcoms-reboots-will-and-grace-full-houseComposite: Allstar, Getty Images & Rex featuresComposite: Allstar, Getty Images & Rex featuresBrian Moylan2016-10-31T15:51:37ZSmall scream: the 10 greatest Halloween TV episodes everhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/greatest-halloween-tv-episodes-ever
<p>From Roseanne to Dawson’s Creek, TV shows have taken much pleasure in celebrating the scariest holiday of the year</p><p>Just about every long-running television series has celebrated Christmas once or twice, because that time of the year offers a prime opportunity to be warm and sentimental – which are the kind of emotions that make both fans and advertisers happy. Good Halloween episodes, though, are harder to come by. Outside of the fun of putting the cast into crazy costumes, TV writers often struggle with what the point of the holiday is supposed to be. Is it horror? Sexiness? Candy?</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/28/a-view-to-a-thrill-readers-share-their-favourite-horror-films">A view to a thrill: readers share their favourite horror films</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/greatest-halloween-tv-episodes-ever">Continue reading...</a>US televisionHalloweenTelevisionTelevision & radioThe SimpsonsMon, 31 Oct 2016 10:00:15 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/31/greatest-halloween-tv-episodes-everComposite: Fox & YoutubeComposite: Fox & YoutubeNoel Murray2016-10-31T10:00:15ZCan Matthew Weiner bring the Mad Men magic to Amazon?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/matthew-weiner-mad-men-amazon-prime-tv
<p>The celebrated show’s creator is making an anthology series for Amazon Prime – whether it will be a word-of-mouth hit like Stranger Things is undetermined</p><p>The message from my editor read: “Weiner returns to TV”. Bold move, I thought. After all, the guy may have recently been the subject of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/jan/24/anthony-weiner-review-huma-abedin-documentary">a highly praised documentary</a>, but seeing as it was about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/21/anthony-weiner-sexually-explicit-messages-teen-daily-mail">his compulsive sexual indiscretions</a> it hardly showed him in a good light. It took a moment, but then my tiny brain clocked the fact that this was not former US congressman Anthony Weiner we were talking about but Matthew, the creator of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/mad-men-tv-series">Mad Men</a>. Oh yeah, I thought, him.</p><p>I remark on this mainly to show how terrible my memory is, but also because it’s a reminder that a year is a long time in showbiz. <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2015/jun/01/matthew-weiner-mad-men-was-my-mistress-im-tired-of-keeping-secrets">Matthew Weiner</a>’s long-running fable of existentially traumatised ad men finished only last year, but it does seem a long time ago. We live in a Game of Thrones world now. But the truth is that GoT is the exception to a new rule: that there may be an unprecedented amount of scripted drama on “TV” but mainstream ubiquity is rare. Daredevil, UnReal, The Leftovers, The Americans, Happy Valley (one for us Brits there), Fargo, Better Call Saul and so on – each have great critical notices, and each their own niche audience. None dominate ratings or discussion. TV may be in a golden age, but the watercooler is dead.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/matthew-weiner-mad-men-amazon-prime-tv">Continue reading...</a>US televisionMad MenDramaTelevisionTelevision & radioAmazon Prime VideoCultureThu, 27 Oct 2016 18:05:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/matthew-weiner-mad-men-amazon-prime-tvPhotograph: Allstar/LIONSGATE TELEVISIONPhotograph: Allstar/LIONSGATE TELEVISIONPaul MacInnes2016-10-27T18:05:19ZOn the road again: Knight Rider and the most rebooted TV shows everhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/knight-rider-rebooted-tv-shows
<p>The talking car is making a comeback, but given the history of bringing back old small-screen stories, should KITT be left in the garage?</p><p>When news broke this week that Justin Lin, of the Fast &amp; Furious franchise, was working on a <a href="http://variety.com/2016/digital/news/knight-rider-justin-lin-machinima-1201899839/">“digital reboot” of Knight Rider</a> the general sentiment wasn’t excitement, but more, “Really? Again?!” This will be the fifth TV reboot of the franchise that launched David Hasselhoff and his talking car to international (mostly German) fame in the 1980s. Seriously, when is it ever going to stop? </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jun/30/david-hasselhoff-the-hoff-baywatch-knight-rider-come-true-driverless-cars">David Hasselhoff: ‘Knight Rider has come true – driverless cars, scanners and blueprints’</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/knight-rider-rebooted-tv-shows">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioThu, 27 Oct 2016 15:36:09 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/knight-rider-rebooted-tv-showsComposite: NBC/Getty Images/RexComposite: NBC/Getty Images/RexBrian Moylan2016-10-27T15:36:09ZHas TV reached peak gore? The Walking Dead and Ash vs Evil Dead push limithttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/the-walking-dead-ash-vs-evil-tv-peak-gore-horror-blood
<p>In the past month TV has seen lashings of blood and guts previously only witnessed in cult splatter films – how much can viewers take? <strong>Warning: spoilers</strong></p><p>The death of director <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2001/jul/28/features1">Herschell Gordon Lewis</a> last month had many revisit the Godfather of Gore’s seminal 1963 exploitation masterpiece <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frxdl1AB9NA">Blood Feast</a>. Widely accepted to be the first gore movie, where disgustingly blood-soaked murders are the raison d’être, Lewis’s low-rent cinematic milestone has, over the years, become almost charming in its blunt explicitness. The standout scene, where a woman’s tongue is pulled out, is far from today’s forensic realism, as it’s clearly an oversized lamb’s tongue dripping in cranberry sauce, and the actress chosen because she was the only person who could fit all that into her mouth. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/walking-dead-season-7-death-scene-leak">Walking Dead season seven premiere: death scene cut from show leaks online</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/the-walking-dead-ash-vs-evil-tv-peak-gore-horror-blood">Continue reading...</a>Horror (TV)Television & radioCultureThe Walking DeadUS televisionTelevisionHorrorWed, 26 Oct 2016 16:06:54 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/the-walking-dead-ash-vs-evil-tv-peak-gore-horror-bloodPhotograph: Matt Klitscher/2016 Starz Entertainment, LLCPhotograph: Matt Klitscher/2016 Starz Entertainment, LLCPhelim O'Neill2016-10-26T16:06:54ZHouse of cardinals: why is TV so obsessed with Catholicism?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/the-young-pope-jude-law-the-sopranos-tv-obsessed-with-catholicism
<p>From Tony Soprano’s moral agonies to Lost’s island purgatory, the drama of sin and damnation fits the small screen perfectly. Now The Young Pope takes a startlingly strange look inside the Vatican</p><p>Television is often accused by faith leaders of marginalising religion. But, if this sin of omission exists, the charitable explanation would be that the subject imposes a double penance on schedulers. In a largely secular society, not only is the potential audience for shows on religious subjects small, but those few who might tune in tend to be hypersensitive about coverage of their beliefs or those of rival worldviews.<br></p><p>But, though theology may be a minority interest, the politics and psychology of the Vatican have long proved a fascination, and TV fiction has often genuflected towards Rome. Graham Greene (a convert who made the church his central subject as a novelist) once said that Catholicism was naturally dramatic because of the moral jeopardy within a system in which believers were forbidden contraceptives or abortion, and clergy were forbidden sex at all. This week, The Young Pope – starring Jude Law as Lenny Belardo, an American cardinal who becomes Pope Pius XIII – takes its place in a congregation of memorable TV shows involving Catholicism.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/the-young-pope-jude-law-the-sopranos-tv-obsessed-with-catholicism">Continue reading...</a>The Young PopeDramaThe SopranosTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioWed, 26 Oct 2016 14:01:02 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/26/the-young-pope-jude-law-the-sopranos-tv-obsessed-with-catholicismPhotograph: Sky TVPhotograph: Sky TVMark Lawson2016-10-26T14:01:02ZReflections on Black Mirror – by those for whom science fiction became realityhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/25/reflections-on-black-mirror-by-those-for-whom-science-fiction-became-reality
<p>For many people, watching Charlie Brooker’s show feels like deja vu – not dystopia. We got writers with intimate experience of gaming, shaming and the darker side of technology to face their fears</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/25/reflections-on-black-mirror-by-those-for-whom-science-fiction-became-reality">Continue reading...</a>Black MirrorTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureTue, 25 Oct 2016 16:25:28 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/25/reflections-on-black-mirror-by-those-for-whom-science-fiction-became-realityPhotograph: NetflixPhotograph: NetflixZoe Williams, Patrick Kingsley, Keith Stuart, Alex Hern, Priya Elan, Hannah Jane Parkinson2016-10-25T16:25:28ZThe one with the other TV show: ranking the Friends cast's next stepshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/matt-leblanc-friends-man-with-a-plan
<p>As Matt LeBlanc tries again with new CBS comedy Man with a Plan, what can he learn from his and his ex co-star’s other small screen adventures?</p><p>Nobody has seen Matt LeBlanc’s new CBS sitcom Man with a Plan yet, but if its <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJwPOAnvp7g">extended first-look trailer</a> is any indication, it’s going to be about as funny as a head-first tumble into a truckload of vomit. It looks flat and broad and desolate, and it looks set to join any number of other failed post-Friends projects for LeBlanc.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2016/oct/20/joey-friends-virtual-digital-avatar-chatbot">Joey from Friends becomes first TV character to be 'virtually immortalized'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/matt-leblanc-friends-man-with-a-plan">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioFriendsLisa KudrowDavid SchwimmerMatt LeBlancMon, 24 Oct 2016 10:00:11 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/matt-leblanc-friends-man-with-a-planComposite: BBC, Channel 5, NBC & Sky AtlanticComposite: BBC, Channel 5, NBC & Sky AtlanticStuart Heritage2016-10-24T10:00:11ZSame role, different show: what happens when TV actors get stuck in a ruthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/hugh-laurie-kiefer-sutherland-tv-actors-repeat-roles
<p>Hugh Laurie, Kevin James and Kiefer Sutherland are sticking to what they know in new shows. What can they learn from others who have failed to keep it fresh?</p><p>This week <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/chance-review-hugh-laurie-hulu">Hulu debuts Chance</a>, a new medical drama starring Hugh Laurie as a brilliant but troubled forensic neuropsychiatrist who has a gift for figuring out his patients’ problems but can’t quite diagnose his own. Sound familiar? Specialty aside, Laurie’s new TV doc Eldon Chance sounds a lot like Dr Gregory House, the curmudgeonly pill-popping genius he played for eight seasons on Fox.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/chance-review-hugh-laurie-hulu">Chance review – Hugh Laurie breaks bad but the results aren't good</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/hugh-laurie-kiefer-sutherland-tv-actors-repeat-roles">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioHugh LaurieWed, 19 Oct 2016 15:44:53 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/hugh-laurie-kiefer-sutherland-tv-actors-repeat-rolesPhotograph: David Moir/APPhotograph: David Moir/APNoel Murray2016-10-19T15:44:53ZInsecure lets black women watch ourselves on TV – at lasthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/18/insecure-lets-black-women-watch-ourselves-on-tv-at-last-issa-rae
<p>Issa Rae’s new show puts black women, and their friendships, front and centre. With its candid chats, awkward raps and a soundtrack overseen by Solange, it’s the perfect mirror</p><p>‘Don’t send me a script if you want me to play the best black friend”, David Oyelowo told NPR last year. The actor was, of course, referencing that tired trope of casting a black “buddy” to a white lead; someone to offer a helping hand without having a fleshed-out narrative of their own. It’s rare for the black best friend to have his or her own identity, and even rarer for two black friends to bag screen time together. </p><p>However, TV is slowly changing, and in recent years audiences have been exposed to a wave of smart, black-led US shows ushered in by the likes of Shonda Rhimes and Lee Daniels. The Bechdel test has long been a yardstick for equality in TV and film, but we have entered the age of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/feb/01/ava-duvernay-test-racial-diversity-hollywood-selma-director-oscars">DuVernay test</a>: that is, black characters having their own identities and interactions. Now, we have a further offering: HBO’s comedy Insecure. It feels especially fresh where friendship is concerned, offering <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/bbc3-fleabag-louie-girls-transparent-master-of-none-sadcom">millennial sadcom vibes</a> while charting a bond often underrepresented on screen. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/18/insecure-lets-black-women-watch-ourselves-on-tv-at-last-issa-rae">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioTue, 18 Oct 2016 13:23:09 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/18/insecure-lets-black-women-watch-ourselves-on-tv-at-last-issa-raePhotograph: John P Fleenor/HBOPhotograph: John P Fleenor/HBOHannah J Davies2016-10-18T13:23:09ZThe best and worst presidents on TVhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/best-and-worst-presidents-on-tv-shows
<p>With Nick Nolte and Kiefer Sutherland currently playing the head of state on TV, we look back at how they stack up against other actors in the Oval Office</p><p>Everywhere you look right now, the election is hovering right there in the distance, like one of those <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/oct/05/clown-sightings-south-carolina-alabama">creepy clowns trying to lure children into the woods with candy</a>. It’s all over the news, our social media, and even <a href="http://www.halloweencostumes.com/blog/p-977-diy-trump-clinton-costumes.aspx">our Halloween costumes</a>. The cultural obsession with the presidency even bleeds into our television shows. </p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/24-legacy-fans-rejoice-jack-bauers-gone-but-the-new-show-has-thrown-us-a-brilliant-bone">24 fans rejoice! Jack Bauer's gone, but the new show has thrown us a brilliant bone</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/best-and-worst-presidents-on-tv-shows">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS politicsFri, 14 Oct 2016 19:55:29 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/best-and-worst-presidents-on-tv-showsComposite: 20th Century Fox & Getty ImagesComposite: 20th Century Fox & Getty ImagesBrian Moylan2016-10-14T19:55:29Z24 fans rejoice! Jack Bauer's gone, but the new show has thrown us a brilliant bonehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/24-legacy-fans-rejoice-jack-bauers-gone-but-the-new-show-has-thrown-us-a-brilliant-bone
<p>24: Legacy will be the first series without Bauer, but at least it will revive Tony Almeida. Here are the other players who must be resurrected</p><p>Next year’s series of 24 is make or break. With Kiefer Sutherland busy wringing his hands on the curiously underpowered <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/sep/30/designated-survivor-kiefer-sutherland-jack-bauer">Designated Survivor</a>, 24: Legacy will be the first series of 24 not to jet along on the clench-jawed motivation of Jack Bauer.</p><p>But at least the 24 producers have had the grace to throw us a bone. It has been revealed that Carlos Bernard will be back in Legacy to revive his character Tony Almeida. “But didn’t Tony die in Day Five?” I hear you ask. Of course he didn’t – he turned up again two years later during Day Seven. You remember, the series where he stole a weaponised pathogen to punish a man who worked for a man who worked for the president, who had ordered the murder of his wife and unborn child. You remember, the season where Jack became exposed to the same pathogen and died, before coming back to life like nothing had happened. God, I love 24.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/24-legacy-fans-rejoice-jack-bauers-gone-but-the-new-show-has-thrown-us-a-brilliant-bone">Continue reading...</a>24DramaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioUS televisionThu, 13 Oct 2016 10:56:36 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/24-legacy-fans-rejoice-jack-bauers-gone-but-the-new-show-has-thrown-us-a-brilliant-bonePhotograph: Capture/Fox BroadcastingPhotograph: Capture/Fox BroadcastingStuart Heritage2016-10-13T10:56:36ZCan late-night TV hosts influence the way we vote?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/late-night-tv-host-donald-trump-voter-influence-us-election
<p>Late-night TV used to mean Johnny Carson. Now, it’s where some of America’s smartest people tear into politics. Are we expecting a laugh – or a revolution? </p><p>When John Oliver won the Emmy last month for his work on Last Week Tonight and went backstage, a journalist asked him if he “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qxHPA76r_zw">felt responsible</a>” for Donald Trump. He started laughing.</p><p> “Thank you, yes,” he replied. “It was an honor to win.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/late-night-tv-host-donald-trump-voter-influence-us-election">Continue reading...</a>US televisionJohn OliverTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioStephen ColbertTrevor NoahThu, 13 Oct 2016 09:00:37 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/13/late-night-tv-host-donald-trump-voter-influence-us-electionPhotograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty ImagesPhotograph: CBS Photo Archive/Getty ImagesEvan Fleischer2016-10-13T09:00:37ZThe mud-slingers: the most shocking presidential attack ads ever airedhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/12/trump-dangerous-clinton-mirrors-the-most-shocking-presidential-attack-ads-ever-aired
<p>With big lies, bad trips, nuclear bombs and now Trump’s Dangerous, political smear campaigns are some of the most devastating minutes of TV ever</p><p>They may be seen more on YouTube than conventional television these days, but a presidential campaign advertisement can still scandalise, distill a message like little else, and even swing an election. Donald Trump’s latest, Dangerous, is already stoking outrage with its signature offensive of innuendo and untruth, but he’s hardly the first to court controversy. How do some of the most notorious campaign ads in history stack up against it? </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/12/trump-dangerous-clinton-mirrors-the-most-shocking-presidential-attack-ads-ever-aired">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioAdvertisingTelevisionCultureMediaWed, 12 Oct 2016 14:22:13 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/12/trump-dangerous-clinton-mirrors-the-most-shocking-presidential-attack-ads-ever-airedPhotograph: YoutubePhotograph: YoutubeGabriel Tate2016-10-12T14:22:13ZFresh Off The Boat shows Hollywood there's life beyond yellowfacehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/fresh-off-the-boat-asian-american-stereotypes
<p>ABC’s family sitcom treats stereotypes with ridicule, doesn’t shy from controversy and proudly presents life from an Asian American perspective</p><p>While <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/feb/04/fresh-off-the-boat-new-perspective-race-with-laughs">Fresh Off the Boat</a> takes place in the mid-90s, the ABC sitcom, which returns on Tuesday, has plenty to say about Asian American identity in the present day. In the second season finale, Eddie Huang wants to see Chris Rock’s searing standup special Bring the Pain. Younger brothers Emery and Evan interfere because their mother told him he wasn’t allowed. But after days of bickering, they stop fighting to watch the show together.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/05/yellowface-hollywood-asian-stereotypes-birth-of-a-dragon">Why is Hollywood still using 'yellowface' in 2016?</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/fresh-off-the-boat-asian-american-stereotypes">Continue reading...</a>US televisionABCTelevisionCultureRace issuesTue, 11 Oct 2016 16:30:27 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/11/fresh-off-the-boat-asian-american-stereotypesPhotograph: Eric McCandless/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Eric McCandless/Getty ImagesChristina Lee2016-10-11T16:30:27ZWhere have all the fun sitcoms gone? They’re all over television, silly!https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/funny-sitcoms-network-tv-blackish-modern-family-fresh-off-boat
<p>If you watch nothing but the bleak comedies on cable, it’s no wonder that you wonder where good old belly laughs are to be had. Try switching on network TV</p><p>Right now, in the year of our Lord 2016, it is possible to watch a television show about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2015/may/20/outlander-highland-flings-time-travel-have-you-been-watching">a time-travelling woman somehow involved in the Jacobite rebellions</a>, another about <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/21/designated-survivor-review-kiefer-sutherland">the one man in the entire presidential cabinet who survived a terrorist bombing of the Capitol</a>, and whatever the hell it is you would call Robot Chicken. There are so many original shows right now – <a draggable="true" href="http://www.indiewire.com/2016/08/john-landgraf-fx-peak-tv-1201714755/">more than 500</a>, according to FX president and self-appointed Television Tabulator-in-Chief John Landgraf – that you can find any kind of show you want, whether it’s a cartoon about <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jun/10/voltron-legendary-defender-netflix-cartoon-reboot">interstellar lions fighting aliens</a> or a remake of an 80s show about a guy <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/23/macgyver-exorcist-remakes-geena-davis">who defuses bombs with paperclips</a>. </p><p>That’s why I was a little surprised when the comedy website <a href="http://splitsider.com/2016/10/where-have-all-the-fun-sitcoms-gone/">Splitsider published an article</a> asking: “Where have all the fun comedies gone?” With so much television in this time of “peak TV”, there must be at least a few “fun comedies”, right? </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/funny-sitcoms-network-tv-blackish-modern-family-fresh-off-boat">Continue reading...</a>US televisionTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyTransparentLouis CKThu, 06 Oct 2016 08:00:03 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/06/funny-sitcoms-network-tv-blackish-modern-family-fresh-off-boatPhotograph: Patrick Wymore/APPhotograph: Patrick Wymore/APBrian Moylan2016-10-06T08:00:03ZFrom Ross and Rachel to SJP's Divorce: why we love TV's toxic coupleshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/toxic-tv-couples-divorce-sarah-jessica-parker
<p>Kermit and Miss Piggy, Den and Angie, Piper and Alex ... as Sharon Horgan’s new series digs up the black comedy in a dying relationship, we raise a vomit-filled wine glass to TV’s most dysfunctional couples</p><p>In the aftermath of a disastrous birthday party, which saw her best friend’s husband have a heart attack, and her husband, Robert, nearly get shot, Frances (<a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/oct/01/sarah-jessica-parker-hbo-divorce-sex-and-the-city">Sarah Jessica Parker</a>) asks Robert (Thomas Haden Church) for a divorce. His response is to vomit into his wine glass, and then over the shoes of a police officer. Frances looks mildly annoyed, and turns, apologetically, to the cop. “I’m sorry – he had a lot of fondue.”</p><p>And so opens Divorce, HBO’s viscerally captivating new comedy by Sharon Horgan. Horgan is apparently building an empire of one-word-title sitcoms that take a domestic situation we think we’ve seen on TV before, and go fully forensic on it – Waking The Dead-style – so we get to see all the disgusting guts and fluids within.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/toxic-tv-couples-divorce-sarah-jessica-parker">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureThe MuppetsEastEndersHBOSarah Jessica ParkerComedyComedyDramaSoap operaUS televisionWed, 05 Oct 2016 11:22:00 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/05/toxic-tv-couples-divorce-sarah-jessica-parkerPhotograph: HBOPhotograph: HBOSarah Morgan2016-10-05T11:22:00ZWestworld: is it Westeros with lassos?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/02/westworld-westeros-anthony-hopkins-hbo
<p>HBO hope to replicate Games of Thrones’ success with their new sci-fi drama. But with its rogue gunslingers and robot sex, the show has intrigue of its own</p><p>A fly lands on Evan Rachel Wood’s lovely face, but she doesn’t swat it away because she is a robot called Dolores, one of the automatons in HBO’s Westworld. “A place with unlimited possibilities,” is how she describes the bubble she calls home, a carefully rendered cowboy town, designed for the pleasure of human visitors, who can shoot and shag at will, safe in the knowledge that the inhabitants are all pleasure-bots. Forgers forge, sheriffs police and barmen serve whiskey from behind amazing moustaches. Welcome to Westworld, where everything is fine and dandy. For now.</p><p>Westworld was originally a 1973 sci-fi movie starring Yul Brynner as a malfunctioning robot gunslinger who runs amok in a wild west theme park. Basically, for writer-director Michael Crichton it was a dry run for his later franchise Jurassic Park. The guy really hates theme parks. What the movie did in 88 minutes, this 10-part series plans to chew over for longer. Which means there is more to it than a tech malfunction when things start to go wrong. Westworld the series goes beyond merciless killer droids and ponders – like Blade Runner and Channel 4’s Humans – the possibility of sentience and the nature of memory. And, given the lack of rules in the wild west, the show pulses with baseness and boobies in the same way Game Of Thrones does. It’s just a different fantasy world this time.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/02/westworld-westeros-anthony-hopkins-hbo">Continue reading...</a>WestworldTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureHBOAnthony HopkinsSun, 02 Oct 2016 11:00:13 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/02/westworld-westeros-anthony-hopkins-hboPhotograph: John P. Johnson/HBOPhotograph: John P. Johnson/HBOJulia Raeside2016-10-02T11:00:13ZThe Bugle: Andy Zaltzman revives 'satire and bullshit' podcast sans John Oliverhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/07/the-bugle-podcast-andy-zaltzman-john-oliver
<p>The popular British comedic news show, which fizzled out when Last Week Tonight took off, returns with new co-hosts that aren’t just ‘two white guys’</p><p>“It was so much fun,” John Oliver writes in an email. “It was basically an hour of laughing at Andy every week.” Oliver is talking about <a href="http://thebuglepodcast.com/">The Bugle</a>, the clever, biting, and laugh-out-loud-in-your-cubicle-at-work audio newspaper that Oliver and Andy Zaltzman created back in 2007.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/14/john-oliver-trump-wins-election-last-week-tonight">John Oliver on Trump: 'A Klan-backed misogynist internet troll' is president</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/07/the-bugle-podcast-andy-zaltzman-john-oliver">Continue reading...</a>PodcastsTelevision & radioJohn OliverCultureRadio comedyComedyWed, 07 Dec 2016 13:09:44 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/07/the-bugle-podcast-andy-zaltzman-john-oliverPhotograph: MediaPunch/REX/ShutterstockPhotograph: MediaPunch/REX/ShutterstockMelissa Locker2016-12-07T13:09:44ZClarke Peters: 'I was 15 when I first stuck out my thumb and ran away from home'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/clarke-peters-the-wire-treme-midsomer-murders-five-guys-named-moe
<p>He has starred in The Wire and sung with the Stones. As Clarke Peters returns to crooning, he talks about hating pop, playing pimps and making his first recording – at the age of four</p><p>A few minutes after I ring the bell at <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/clarke-peters">Clarke Peters</a>’ home in a tranquil corner of north-west London, he materialises behind me, padding up the path with his wife, Penny. “Sorry, mate,” he says, the British colloquialism sounding odd in his deep, soothing east coast tones. “We were getting coffee. I don’t get to spend too much time with my wife.” Their youngest son recently left for university and Penny tells me she’s feeling “the empty nest thing”. Does he call? “Sometimes too much!” Peters says with a toot of brassy laughter. </p><p>He and I wander into the living room where a piano is covered in hats from some of the 64-year-old actor’s roles. Here’s one he wore in a production of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. And here’s one from <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2011/may/13/your-next-box-set-treme">Treme</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/david-simon">David Simon</a>’s series about New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina; Peters played a Mardi Gras Indian chief. He touches another hat and seems momentarily stumped before the penny drops. “That’s my wife’s,” he says.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/clarke-peters-the-wire-treme-midsomer-murders-five-guys-named-moe">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionClarke PetersCultureFilmTelevision & radioTue, 06 Dec 2016 08:00:06 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/06/clarke-peters-the-wire-treme-midsomer-murders-five-guys-named-moePhotograph: Martin Godwin for the GuardianPhotograph: Martin Godwin for the GuardianRyan Gilbey2016-12-06T08:00:06ZClass: the YA spin-off that finally brings Doctor Who into the 21st centuryhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/dec/05/class-the-ya-spin-off-that-finally-brings-doctor-who-into-the-21st-century
<p>The newest addition to the Whoniverse had casual sex, gender fluidity and a gay alien prince. In fact, its biggest flaw was that the Doctor turned up</p><p>There was only one thing really wrong with this year’s Doctor Who spin-off, Class: the fact that the Doctor showed up. </p><p>Sure, it gave fans a glimpse of Peter Capaldi’s number 12. But that join-the-dots cameo was by far the most jarring moment of a series strong enough to stand alone. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/dec/05/class-the-ya-spin-off-that-finally-brings-doctor-who-into-the-21st-century">Continue reading...</a>Doctor WhoCultureFantasyTelevisionTelevision & radioMon, 05 Dec 2016 17:22:33 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/dec/05/class-the-ya-spin-off-that-finally-brings-doctor-who-into-the-21st-centuryPhotograph: BBC/Simon RidgewayPhotograph: BBC/Simon RidgewayDan Martin2016-12-05T17:22:33ZSob story: how This Is Us brought the TV tearjerker back to lifehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/this-is-us-channel-4-family-drama-tv-tearjerker
<p>Powered by pure emotion, the hit family drama has proved a ratings hit in the States. Its cast and creator explain why we all need a good cry now and again</p><p>Fluids leaking, shoulders heaving, eyes clamped shut, a surge of pressure, the rush of liquid and then sweet, hollow calm. That the term “catharsis” has historically applied as frequently to vomit, boils and faeces as grief, fury and weeping tells you a lot about how we feel about feelings: intensely.</p><p>As someone who once cried so hard at Mork &amp; Mindy that they actually threw up all over their tartan pyjamas, I have a lot of time for catharsis. Aristotle’s “better out than in” philosophy of drama is as relevant today as when those sandal-flapping Greek players first took to the stage, particularly in our fractious political climate. A spoonful of catharsis helps the headlines go down, after all.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/this-is-us-channel-4-family-drama-tv-tearjerker">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureMon, 05 Dec 2016 09:00:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/05/this-is-us-channel-4-family-drama-tv-tearjerkerPhotograph: 20th Century Fox/Paul Drinkwater/NBCPhotograph: 20th Century Fox/Paul Drinkwater/NBCNell Frizzell2016-12-05T09:00:19ZCaptive: Netflix's big-budget answer to Crimewatchhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/03/captive-netflix-hostage-documentary
<p>The streaming platform’s latest show relives dramatic hostage scenarios - but will it be able to salvage the tacky crime scene re-enactment genre?</p><p>Back in September, Netflix announced a long-term plan to fill half of its catalogue with original programming. This perhaps explains its feverish efforts in recent years to make big-budget versions of every TV format under the sun – with the possible exceptions of home shopping and crime scene re-enactment. However, the latter arrives on the platform on Friday courtesy of <strong>Captive</strong>, a slick docuseries that does for a string of high-stakes false imprisonments what Crimewatch does for armed robberies in Penge.</p><p>Across eight episodes, the show revisits hostage-takings in eight countries from Brazil to Chechnya to Yemen, using first-hand interviews, archival footage and glossy reconstructions to piece together precise accounts of events often shrouded in confusion and terror. At first, it’s not clear what Captive hopes to achieve beyond raising the audience’s collective heart rate but, over time, a few factors begin to elevate the show beyond its superficial sales pitch as a sleek but repetitive odyssey through the “List of hostage crises” Wikipedia entry.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/03/captive-netflix-hostage-documentary">Continue reading...</a>DocumentaryDVD and video reviewsCultureFactual TVTelevision & radioTelevisionSat, 03 Dec 2016 09:00:18 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/03/captive-netflix-hostage-documentaryPhotograph: Jean Louis Schuller/Netflix/Mark Wolf/NetflixPhotograph: Jean Louis Schuller/Netflix/Mark Wolf/NetflixCharlie Lyne2016-12-03T09:00:18ZEllen DeGeneres: darling of both middle America and the coasts | Observer profilehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/27/ellen-degeneres-talkshow-host-medal-freedom-liberal-america-learned-love
Last week’s Medal of Freedom award to America’s favourite talkshow host is just reward for the bravery she showed in coming out on national TV and returning from near oblivion<p>One of the forces that helped propel Donald Trump to the White House was the belief, shared by many of his supporters, that America is run by a Washington elite that is promoted by spoilt Hollywood liberals. For those who hold to that viewpoint, the sight of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/gallery/2016/nov/22/presidential-medal-of-freedom-awards-ceremony-2016-in-pictures" title="">President Obama awarding Medals of Freedom</a> last week to a starry cast of A-list celebrities must have seemed like a full-blown invasion of their safe space.</p><p>Not only did the president pay tribute to such unreconstructed pinkos as Tom Hanks, Robert De Niro and Bruce Springsteen, he also made a moving speech celebrating the courage of the comedian Ellen DeGeneres that really should have come with a trigger warning for social conservatives.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/27/ellen-degeneres-talkshow-host-medal-freedom-liberal-america-learned-love">Continue reading...</a>Ellen DeGeneresTelevisionUK newsSun, 27 Nov 2016 00:05:46 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/27/ellen-degeneres-talkshow-host-medal-freedom-liberal-america-learned-lovePhotograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Saul Loeb/AFP/Getty ImagesAndrew Anthony2016-11-27T00:05:46ZHomecoming: a starstudded psychological thriller in podcast formhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/homecoming-podcast-catherine-keener-david-schwimmer
<p>Catherine Keener as a caseworker helping damaged soldiers and David Schwimmer as her take-no-prisoners boss lead this post-Serial narrative drama</p><p>In the post-Serial world, drama podcasts have been upping their game and now <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/homecoming/id1170934381?mt=2"><strong>Homecoming</strong></a> (iTunes, Gimlet Media) takes the format to another level.</p><p>It’s impossible not to become immersed in the opening episode of the psychological thriller. Catherine Keener stars as Heidi Bergman, a caseworker from an experimental facility who’s helping soldiers integrate back into the community. She’s focusing on Walter Cruz (Star Wars’ Oscar Isaac), who is trying to live a normal life and keep his inner darkness at bay. It’s not easy, as he reveals his thoughts about harming himself: “I saw the desk and I just imagine leaning way back and slamming my forehead into the corner as hard as I could, over and over, into my eye,” he tells her. “But that was an extreme. It’s not like that all the time.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/homecoming-podcast-catherine-keener-david-schwimmer">Continue reading...</a>PodcastingTelevision & radioCultureInternetDigital mediaThu, 24 Nov 2016 15:37:30 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/24/homecoming-podcast-catherine-keener-david-schwimmerPhotograph: Jonathan Leibson/Getty ImagesPhotograph: Jonathan Leibson/Getty ImagesHannah Verdier2016-11-24T15:37:30ZDavid Schwimmer: 'I would make an excellent sociopath'https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/22/homecoming-podcast-david-schwimmer-oscar-isaac
<p>The Friends star’s latest project follows in the footsteps of Welcome to Night Vale and Limetown, as the radio drama continues its reinvention with help from other big-name actors including Oscar Isaac</p><p>Oscar Isaac, Catherine Keener and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/jun/02/david-schwimmer-interview-feed-the-beast-amc-tv">David Schwimmer</a> are starring in the next big blockbuster, but you won’t need to buy a movie ticket to see it. The actors, along with Arrested Development’s David Cross and the comedian Amy Sedaris, are all starring in a new podcast called <a href="https://gimletmedia.com/show/homecoming/">Homecoming</a>, which is Gimlet Media’s first foray into scripted dramas, a modern take on the old-time radio dramas.</p><p>Scripted dramas are experiencing a second act in the world of podcasts, with creators embracing a format that’s now attracting bigger-name talent. The new life of audio dramas started with the strange fictional world of Welcome to Night Vale, which launched back in 2012. (In 2014 the Guardian <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2014/mar/14/night-vale-podcast">called it</a> “an unsettling radio drama masquerading as a local community news programme”.) As the genre became more popular, Welcome to Night Vale’s production company started releasing more dramas, including Alice Isn’t Dead, Within the Wires and The Orbiting Human Circus. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/22/homecoming-podcast-david-schwimmer-oscar-isaac">Continue reading...</a>PodcastsDavid SchwimmerRadioCultureInternetPodcastingTue, 22 Nov 2016 16:13:31 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/22/homecoming-podcast-david-schwimmer-oscar-isaacPhotograph: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vulture FestivaPhotograph: Bryan Bedder/Getty Images for Vulture FestivaMelissa Locker2016-11-22T16:13:31ZNot just Neighbours: the new shows putting Australian TV on the maphttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/best-australian-tv-series-deep-water-cleverman
<p>From Please Like Me to Cleverman, a wave of Aussie exports is proving the nation’s TV output is more than just soaps. Here are the best of a bonzer bunch </p><p>For decades, UK viewers have dismissed Australia as a benign TV backwater, good only for soaps where sandy-haired women in bikinis shout things like: “Kirk! I love ya, but the salon’s on fire and Sheila’s trapped – again!” But in 2011 The Slap brought us knotty urban relationship drama; then Chris “Summer Heights High” Lilley showed us Australia could match the best of our bad-taste character comedies. Now we’re in a peak-TV era where digital channels and streaming services grab content from across the world, Oz has stepped up its game again. The latest intriguing import is Deep Water, a crime drama starring Noah Taylor and Orange Is the New Black’s Yael Stone.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/best-australian-tv-series-deep-water-cleverman">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureFri, 18 Nov 2016 14:00:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/best-australian-tv-series-deep-water-clevermanPhotograph: Sean O'Reilly/SBSPhotograph: Sean O'Reilly/SBSJack Seale2016-11-18T14:00:19ZMaking Oprah: how one woman changed the face of daytime TVhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/17/making-oprah-winfrey-the-woman-who-changed-the-face-of-daytime
<p>This engrossing three-part podcast, with contributions from Oprah herself, runs from the start of her own show 30 years ago to her current brand of magic</p><p>Imagine a time when <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/oprah-winfrey" title="">Oprah</a> had to spell out her name. Or even use her surname. It is 30 years since the debut of The Oprah Winfrey Show, and an engrossing new podcast from WBEZ Chicago tracks how she changed the face of daytime TV. <strong>Making Oprah</strong> (iTunes) has contributions from the woman herself, as well as people who worked with her. In one early audition tape, she spells out her name, and there are tales of pre-big-break times when her co-host would tap her on the leg when she was allowed to speak.</p><p>But when US TV network ABC was searching for a rival for <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Phil_Donahue_Show" title="">The Phil Donahue Show</a>, general manager Dennis Swanson hired her for what would eventually become The Oprah Winfrey Show. He had to break the then controversial news to his bosses that he had signed up a black woman. “She became a billionaire and I got promoted, so it worked out good for both of us,” he says.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/17/making-oprah-winfrey-the-woman-who-changed-the-face-of-daytime">Continue reading...</a>Oprah WinfreyPodcastsRadioCultureTelevision & radioThu, 17 Nov 2016 17:00:53 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/17/making-oprah-winfrey-the-woman-who-changed-the-face-of-daytimePhotograph: Matt Baron/BEI/BEI/ShutterstockPhotograph: Matt Baron/BEI/BEI/ShutterstockHannah Verdier2016-11-17T17:00:53ZA whole new ball game: the unlikely return of STI sitcom Scrotal Recallhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/16/c4-comedy-scotal-recall-returns-as-netflix-series-lovesick
<p>It was the romcom with the terrible title that no one was surprised to see cancelled. But now Scrotal Recall is back with a new name ... Lovesick</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2014/oct/02/scrotal-recall-an-infectious-and-very-clever-concept">Scrotal Recall: an infectious and very clever concept</a> </p><p>Scrotal Recall: as titles go, it wasn’t everyone’s bag. When the Channel 4 sitcom first aired in 2014, both critics and viewers struggled to get past that name, despite it being an ingenious low-humour wrapper for the show’s high concept. Armed with a list of his past lovers, footloose young romantic Dylan – played with shaggy charm by sometime folk musician <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/15/johnny-flynn-severe-panic-attacks">Johnny Flynn</a>, half-brother of Jerome – embarked on a quest to inform them of his recent chlamydia diagnosis. Each episode, named for the old flame, then flashed back to their original hook-up. Here was the postmodern sleight of hand of a slick US hit like How I Met Your Mother beefed up with the sexual frankness of post-Skins young-adult Britcoms.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/16/c4-comedy-scotal-recall-returns-as-netflix-series-lovesick">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionCultureNetflixTelevision & radioChannel 4Wed, 16 Nov 2016 09:00:14 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/16/c4-comedy-scotal-recall-returns-as-netflix-series-lovesickPhotograph: Brian Sweeney/Channel 4Photograph: Brian Sweeney/Channel 4Graeme Virtue2016-11-16T09:00:14ZForget bleak and edgy shows, this is a time for blanket-hugging comforthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/13/comfort-tv-this-is-us-gilmore-girls
<p>The family drama This Is Us is the latest in a line of warm and nostalgic American shows to strike a chord with viewers</p><p>The hottest show in America right now isn’t dark, dangerous or depressing. There are no violent deaths, no conflicted anti-heroes, no cynical men and women struggling to survive in a morally compromised world.</p><p>Instead <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/20/this-is-us-milo-ventimiglia-mandy-moore-nbc"><em>This Is Us</em></a>, which comes to Channel 4 later this year, follows a disparate group of people as they look for work, battle body issues, prepare to give birth and search for life’s meaning. Despite some sad moments, it’s television that’s as warm and welcoming as a hot bath at the end of a cold day, and it’s not the only show set to be embraced by eager audiences as the bad news keeps coming and the long nights draw in.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/13/comfort-tv-this-is-us-gilmore-girls">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevision & radioTelevisionUS televisionCultureSun, 13 Nov 2016 00:05:03 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/13/comfort-tv-this-is-us-gilmore-girlsPhotograph: NBC/Ron Batzdorf/NBCPhotograph: NBC/Ron Batzdorf/NBCSarah Hughes2016-11-13T00:05:03ZPark and Recreation's Leslie Knope writes reassuring letter to Americahttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/10/park-recreation-leslie-knope-letter-to-america
<p>Fictional character played by Amy Poehler wrote, of the election: ‘I do not accept that our country has descended into the hatred-swirled slop pile he lives in’</p><p>Following in the footsteps of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/09/michael-moore-donald-trump-morning-after-to-do-list-facebook">Michael Moore</a>, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/nov/10/amy-schumer-trump-kicking-screaming-babies">Amy Schumer</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2016/nov/10/jennifer-lawrence-donald-trump-election-president-protests">Jennifer Lawrence</a>, Leslie Knope – the relentlessly positive public servant from Park and Recreation, who is played by Amy Poehler – has chipped in with a letter to America after Donald Trump’s win in the presidential campaign.</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2015/jul/11/amy-poehler">Amy Poehler: ‘I see life as being attacked by a bear'</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/10/park-recreation-leslie-knope-letter-to-america">Continue reading...</a>Parks and RecreationTelevision & radioHillary ClintonCultureUS newsDonald TrumpFri, 11 Nov 2016 00:01:14 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/10/park-recreation-leslie-knope-letter-to-americaPhotograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesPhotograph: NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty ImagesGuardian staff2016-11-11T00:01:14ZFrom Supertrain to The Crown: TV's most expensive shows everhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/08/the-crown-supertrain-most-expensive-tv-shows
<p>The days of keeping costs low are long gone as the multimillion dollar royal drama is the latest in a series of small-screen shows with blockbuster budgets</p><p>When The Crown debuted on Netflix last week, it drew immediate attention for its lavish look and for creator Peter Morgan’s ambition to spend nearly 60 hours telling the full story of Queen Elizabeth II, from her youth to today. The Crown also raised eyebrows for the news that its backers spent over $100m to produce the series’ first 10 episodes. Twenty years ago, the goal of any TV producer was to keep costs low and to make enough episodes to get a syndication deal, so that the money for reruns would keep rolling in. These days, companies are willing to spend big on just one short season, knowing that some viewers tend to look at high production values as a sign that a show’s worth binge-watching.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/08/the-crown-supertrain-most-expensive-tv-shows">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionUS televisionCultureTelevision & radioThe CrownTelevision industryTue, 08 Nov 2016 17:57:16 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/08/the-crown-supertrain-most-expensive-tv-showsComposite: Netflix/FOX/CBS/HBOComposite: Netflix/FOX/CBS/HBONoel Murray2016-11-08T17:57:16ZAngela Bassett: 'Anger doesn't serve me. If I'm frustrated, I just do better’https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/06/angela-bassett-close-to-the-enemy-interview
<p>From Boyz N the Hood to playing Tina Turner, Angela Bassett has always been a trailblazer. But Close to the Enemy, Stephen Poliakoff’s latest drama about war-ravaged Britain, presented a new type of challenge</p><p>A little over a month ago, Angela Bassett stood on stage at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC and took her place in the evening’s celebration to mark the inauguration of the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2016/sep/16/smithsonian-museum-african-american-history-respectability-politics">National Museum of African American History and Culture</a>. She must have felt a little rush of her own history. It was at the theatre where Bassett sat as a 15-year-old, watching a production of John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men. She had come from Florida, where she lived, as part of an enrichment programme which took teenagers on cultural outings. She sat there, watching James Earl Jones play Lennie, and it changed her life. “I was so moved by the way this theatre experience affected me,” she says. “I couldn’t believe I felt all these emotions from watching a play.”</p><p>She decided there and then she would be an actor, but for a young black girl in the 1970s, she says, that was akin to saying she wanted to be an astronaut. “My mother was: ‘You going to be an actress? Not in your lifetime. What black actresses do we have?’” Did Bassett ever have doubts that she would be able to make it? She pauses for a while then says softly but firmly: “No.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/06/angela-bassett-close-to-the-enemy-interview">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevision & radioCultureStephen PoliakoffFilm industryTelevision industryRace issuesTelevisionBBC2MediaOscarsFilmWomenSun, 06 Nov 2016 15:00:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/06/angela-bassett-close-to-the-enemy-interviewPhotograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianPhotograph: Graeme Robertson for the GuardianEmine Saner2016-11-06T15:00:19Z'It's sunny and safe': why Gilmore Girls is perfect comfort TVhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/05/sunny-safe-gilmore-girls-comfort-tv
<p>The cult show is back. It’s not just escapism – it got me through the worst time of my life</p><p>It is autumn in Stars Hollow. There is a chill in the air and the gazebo in the town’s central square is decorated with pumpkins, porcelain pigs and cockerels that nestle among haystacks and horns of plenty. On one side of the square stands the white clapboard steepled church; across the way is the traditional, red-brick school building. The bookshop, diner and grocers are framed by wrought iron gaslights, all adorned by golden leaf wreaths and decorative ears of corn.</p><p>This place, which has come to mean so much to me, is the epitome of festive New England. I may have grown up in suburban Manchester, England, but it feels like home. In my mind, I’ve escaped here so many times, and now here I am, drinking in a town as picturesque as a film set – which is exactly what it is, on the Warner Brothers studio lot in Burbank, Los Angeles. Stars Hollow, the fictional home of <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/aug/24/gilmore-girls-new-episodes-netflix-reboot">Gilmore Girls</a>, the noughties TV series about a mother and daughter, is a quiet, eccentric town where nothing bad happens. Unlike the big television dramas of recent years (The Fall, The Bridge, The Missing) there are no murders; no one is kidnapped or abused. Instead the show follows the life of Lorelai Gilmore, who got pregnant at 16 and ran away from her wealthy, overbearing parents, and Rory, her daughter and closest friend, who is turning 16 as the story begins.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/05/sunny-safe-gilmore-girls-comfort-tv">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioNetflixCultureMediaSat, 05 Nov 2016 09:30:43 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/05/sunny-safe-gilmore-girls-comfort-tvPhotograph: Saeed Adyani/NetflixPhotograph: Saeed Adyani/NetflixAbigail Radnor2016-11-05T09:30:43ZThe Crown: a huge ocean-going blockbuster – the Americans will love ithttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/the-crown-windsor-claire-foy-elizabeth-blockbuster
<p>The story of the house of Windsor is saddled with some thwack-bong dialogue, but Claire Foy’s unendingly expressive Princess Elizabeth leads a cast dripping with almost every jewel in the national treasury</p><p><strong>What is it?</strong> A solemn and stately procession through the early reign of ER II.</p><p><strong>Why you’ll love it:</strong> Because it <a href="https://www.ft.com/content/96017f64-a0f1-11e6-86d5-4e36b35c3550">cost a reputed £100m</a>? Because the cast drips with almost every jewel in our nation’s treasury, including Claire Foy (last seen as Ann Boleyn in <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/wolf-hall">Wolf Hall</a>) and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/matt-smith">Matt Smith</a>? Because <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/stephen-daldry">Stephen Daldry</a> directs the early episodes with such a delicate yet sure touch it makes your lip quiver?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/the-crown-windsor-claire-foy-elizabeth-blockbuster">Continue reading...</a>The CrownDramaTelevision & radioTelevisionCultureNetflixMediaThu, 03 Nov 2016 16:10:19 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/the-crown-windsor-claire-foy-elizabeth-blockbusterPhotograph: NetflixPhotograph: NetflixJulia Raeside2016-11-03T16:10:19Z'I felt like Morse tapping his first code' – the man who invented the podcasthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/christopher-lydon-podcast-inventor-open-source-mp3-files-interview
<p>In 2003, Christopher Lydon worked out how to syndicate MP3 files online, and lo, the podcast was born. He explains how he did it – and why we need them more than ever in the age of Trump</p><p>Despite the Saint Augustine quotes, philosophical tangents and chest-echoing laughs, it’s hard to talk to Christopher Lydon without simply shouting over his every word: “You invented the podcast!”</p><p>Because this man did invent the podcast. Well, his was the first voice to be released as a downloadable MP3 file on an RSS feed. Lydon, who now hosts the <a href="http://radioopensource.org/">Open Source podcast</a>, was helped by the software developer and fellow Harvard graduate, <a href="http://davewiner.com/">Dave Winer</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/christopher-lydon-podcast-inventor-open-source-mp3-files-interview">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioRadioPodcastingCultureDigital mediaInternetTechnologyMediaPodcastsThu, 03 Nov 2016 07:00:42 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/03/christopher-lydon-podcast-inventor-open-source-mp3-files-interviewPhotograph: Boston Globe/Boston Globe via GettyPhotograph: Boston Globe/Boston Globe via GettyNell Frizzell2016-11-03T07:00:42ZJohn Lithgow: 'When the Brexit movie lands, I call dibs on Boris Johnson'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/02/john-lithgow-the-crown-netflix-when-the-brexit-movie-lands-i-call-dibs-on-boris-johnson
<p>John Lithgow loves Britain, so he was floored to be cast as Winston Churchill. Ahead of The Crown, the beloved actor talks toff-porn, stripping and squirrels<br></p><p>‘Next to the word ‘luvvie’ in the dictionary, there’s a picture of me,” says John Lithgow. “At least in the American editions.”</p><p>Like many of Lithgow’s statements, it’s followed by a hearty laugh, signalling both self-deprecation and a punchline. He does say some supremely luvvie-ish comments, to be honest: “Good acting is really excellent carpentry”, “Shakespeare was mother’s milk”. And when he held a 70th birthday party last year in England, half of British theatre found itself at his home. But it is very difficult not to warm to him. He’s genial and open and, underneath it all, not the slightest bit pompous. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/02/john-lithgow-the-crown-netflix-when-the-brexit-movie-lands-i-call-dibs-on-boris-johnson">Continue reading...</a>The CrownJohn LithgowTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureWed, 02 Nov 2016 14:28:07 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/02/john-lithgow-the-crown-netflix-when-the-brexit-movie-lands-i-call-dibs-on-boris-johnsonPhotograph: Alex Bailey/NetflixPhotograph: Alex Bailey/NetflixSteve Rose2016-11-02T14:28:07ZGood Girls Revolt: the antidote to your Mad Men withdrawal shakeshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/good-girls-revolt-mad-men-new-york
<p>Based on Lynn Povich’s real-life mutiny at Newsweek, this series set in 1970s New York sees a group of female researchers rise up against the all-male editorial team. It’s a reminder that the war isn’t over</p><p><strong>What is it?</strong> The patch you strap on if your <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/mad-men-tv-series">Mad Men</a> withdrawal shakes won’t quit.</p><p><strong>Why you’ll love it:</strong> (Or not) You won’t find a single review of Good Girls Revolt that doesn’t mention Mad Men and this one will be no different. I have never seen a show so desperate to be Mad Men, with everything from the office set to the selection of character types to the slightly cringe whig-out scenes and hippy happenings bearing a remarkable resemblance to AMC’s biggest hit. This show feels like a determined but naive girl, trying to wear her big sister’s heels but walking ever so slightly like a duck in them.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/good-girls-revolt-mad-men-new-york">Continue reading...</a>DramaTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureAmazon Prime VideoMediaThu, 27 Oct 2016 15:05:25 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/27/good-girls-revolt-mad-men-new-yorkPhotograph: Jessica Miglio/Amazon PrimePhotograph: Jessica Miglio/Amazon PrimeJulia Raeside2016-10-27T15:05:25ZThe day Doctor Who changed face – and transformed TV for everhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/doctor-who-changed-face-and-transformed-tv-for-ever
<p>It is 50 years since fans watched in shock as the beloved Time Lord regenerated for the very first time – a gamble that enabled the show to still be with us today</p><p>Fifty years ago tomorrow, at 6:13pm, a unique moment in television history took place. A camera closed in on the face of an actor lying motionless on the floor. The image blurred, faded to white, then came back into focus, revealing that for the very first time, Doctor Who had changed his face.</p><p>It was the stroke of genius that saved the series from being a three or four season wonder, and instead ensured it would go on to become one of the UK’s most iconic pieces of popular culture.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/doctor-who-changed-face-and-transformed-tv-for-ever">Continue reading...</a>Doctor WhoCultureTelevisionTelevision & radioFantasyFri, 28 Oct 2016 08:09:28 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/28/doctor-who-changed-face-and-transformed-tv-for-everPhotograph: BBCPhotograph: BBCMartin Belam2016-10-28T08:09:28ZThe Gilmore Girls are back: what we learned from the revival's first trailerhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/25/gilmore-girls-revival-netflix-first-trailer-watch
<p>The much-anticipated return will cover four seasons as we catch up with Lorelai and Rory for the first time in nine years</p><p>The most remarkable thing about the first trailer for <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/aug/24/gilmore-girls-new-episodes-netflix-reboot">Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life</a>, is how good it looks. For anyone who has watched the old episodes on Netflix recently, it just looks so dated. The technology back then wasn’t geared toward watching television programs on anything other than the bulk square television sets we had back in the early 2000s. The footage from the four-part Netflix revival is crisp, clean and suited for the digital age. And so are our heroines.</p><p> The trailer finally let us in on some of the key plot points that we can expect when everyone returns to Stars Hollow for some existential romantic angst and a lot of snappy dialogue. Lorelai is living with Luke, even though some of the spark is gone after almost a decade of being together. Rory is traveling around the world from London to New York and back to her sleepy town in Connecticut searching for her identity. However, at one point she mentions that she has no job. Does that mean she gets fired or she was just traveling for the fun of it and not for work?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/25/gilmore-girls-revival-netflix-first-trailer-watch">Continue reading...</a>US televisionNetflixMediaTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioDramaUS newsTue, 25 Oct 2016 18:09:45 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/25/gilmore-girls-revival-netflix-first-trailer-watchPhotograph: NetflixPhotograph: NetflixBrian Moylan2016-10-25T18:09:45Z​Adnan Syed asks for release from prison while he awaits retrial in Serial casehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/serial-adnan-syed-retrial-hae-min-lee-baltimore
<p>Syed was granted a new trial after the popular podcast was released because his attorney failed to cross-examine an expert witness about cell tower data</p><p>Adnan Syed, whose story was the center of the Serial podcast, is asking to be released from prison while he awaits his retrial in the murder of his high school girlfriend.</p><p>Justin Brown, a lawyer representing Syed, wrote in a motion filed on Monday that Syed should be released <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/jul/01/serial-adnan-syed-new-trial-hae-min-lee-murder">while awaiting retrial</a> because he poses “no danger to the community”. Brown also noted that his client had already served 17 years in prison “based on an unconstitutional conviction for a crime he did not commit”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/serial-adnan-syed-retrial-hae-min-lee-baltimore">Continue reading...</a>BaltimoreSerialUS newsMarylandMon, 24 Oct 2016 23:35:25 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/24/serial-adnan-syed-retrial-hae-min-lee-baltimorePhotograph: Baltimore Sun/TNS via Getty ImagesPhotograph: Baltimore Sun/TNS via Getty ImagesAssociated Press in Baltimore2016-10-24T23:35:25ZCrazy Ex-Girlfriend's Rachel Bloom: 'I'm not saying love is bull, but…'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-rachel-bloom-im-not-saying-love-is-bull-but
<p>She shot into the spotlight with her upbeat musical TV show about stalking and now has an army of devotees. As Crazy Ex-Girlfriend returns for a second run, its star talks Beyoncé, rollercoasters – and what to do when love gets crummy</p><p>Crazy Ex-Girlfriend is quickly establishing a tradition: the opening episode blow-out. In the first moments of the very first episode, its creator and star Rachel Bloom performed an extravagant Busby Berkeley-style ode to her new hometown of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKnWw7ou4ik">West Covina</a>, with dozens of synchronised dancers, a giant levitating pretzel and a marching band that’s eventually bundled offscreen due to budget cuts.<br></p><p>The second series swings even harder for the fences. “We have this song coming up in the first episode called Love Kernels,” Bloom tells me, her voice as quick and clipped as a 1940s screwball star. “It’s this dreamy, Beyonce, Lemonade-type thing – and it’s the thesis of the entire episode.”</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-rachel-bloom-im-not-saying-love-is-bull-but">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionUS televisionCultureTelevision & radioNetflixFri, 21 Oct 2016 17:07:45 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/crazy-ex-girlfriend-rachel-bloom-im-not-saying-love-is-bull-butPhotograph: CBSPhotograph: CBSStuart Heritage2016-10-21T17:07:45ZHaters Back Off: it's Napoleon Dynamite for the YouTube generationhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/haters-back-off-netflix-review
<p>This Netflix sitcom about a monstrous budding internet sensation in small-town America is a gem – if you can handle the shouting</p><p><strong>What is it?</strong> The <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/14/haters-back-off-review-netflix-miranda-sings-colleen-ballinger">debut television series</a> from intentionally awful internet sensation Miranda Sings.</p><p><strong>Why you’ll love it:</strong> Traditionally, YouTubers haven’t enjoyed the smoothest transition to more established media. Witness 2010’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/film/2010/dec/16/fred-the-movie-film-review">Fred: The Movie</a> for example, an early attempt at a crossover so colossally bonk-headed that it made you feel as if you’d taken a cheese grater to the brain by the final credits.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/haters-back-off-netflix-review">Continue reading...</a>ComedyTelevisionTelevision & radioCultureNetflixMediaComedyFri, 21 Oct 2016 08:00:01 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/haters-back-off-netflix-reviewPhotograph: Carol Segal/NetflixPhotograph: Carol Segal/NetflixStuart Heritage2016-10-21T08:00:01ZDoctor Who goes back to school – but will Class finally make the Whoniverse cool?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/class-bbc3-doctor-who-goes-back-to-school-make-the-whoniverse-cool
<p>Bereft Who fans in need of a 2016 fix, get ready! The new spinoff is a Buffy-style YA show set in Coal Hill Academy – and even the most sceptical should watch</p><p>In its 53 years, Doctor Who has taken us to the farthest reaches of the universe to the end of time itself. But now it finds somewhere genuinely new to go: a Shoreditch sixth-form. This week sees the launch of Class, the latest spinoff and an exercise in “Young Adult”, the bogglingly successful sub-genre that gave the world Twilight and The Hunger Games, and of which the show’s creator <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/books/patrick-ness">Patrick Ness</a> is a leading light. It’s also the most high-profile offering from BBC3 since the channel’s move online. Doctor Who has been many things – epic, scary, life-affirming, naff – but up to this point, not many would have called it especially cool. Stay with me…</p><p>Class is familiar territory seen through new eyes. We are talking about a youth-oriented spinoff from a children’s show that grown adults enjoy getting angry about online, and that comes with a built-in warning that its adult themes make it “unsuitable for younger viewers”. Certainly, there are swears aplenty. One of the leads even <em>smokes</em>. And it doesn’t flinch from being gruesome. Such is the way with YA. But if Class carries itself with swagger and style, the young characters themselves don’t necessarily – yet.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/class-bbc3-doctor-who-goes-back-to-school-make-the-whoniverse-cool">Continue reading...</a>Doctor WhoCultureFantasyTelevisionTelevision & radioFri, 21 Oct 2016 11:29:26 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/21/class-bbc3-doctor-who-goes-back-to-school-make-the-whoniverse-coolPhotograph: BBC/Simon RidgewayPhotograph: BBC/Simon RidgewayDan Martin2016-10-21T11:29:26ZThe worst TV pilots ever: a Waterworld prequel, drag-racing PIs and furry fetishhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/oct/20/worst-tv-pilots-ever
<p>We took a look at the unsold pilots and found the outliers, which take a terrible idea and run with it, creating genuinely unwatchable TV in the process</p><p>Think for one second about all the TV you don’t watch – home renovation reality shows, dramatic re-enactments of obscure civil war battles, bass fishing highlights, and whatever the hell Freeform is. There’s just not enough time in the day to consume every TV show. Then there’s the shows that you not only won’t watch, but you literally can’t watch. These are the failed pilots, the little lost three-legged puppies of Hollywood. They get buried in an abandoned missile silo or melted down and turned into episodes of The Big Bang Theory. But what if, for one shining moment, we could imagine a world where these shows not only exist, but they thrive? This is what I have done for five genuine unsold pilots that sound the least appealing. For your pleasure, I have charted out a path forward for these shows.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/oct/20/worst-tv-pilots-ever">Continue reading...</a>Television & radioCultureThu, 20 Oct 2016 16:00:05 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/tvandradioblog/2016/oct/20/worst-tv-pilots-everComposite: Alamy & Getty ImagesComposite: Alamy & Getty ImagesDave Schilling2016-10-20T16:00:05ZLow end theories: how Dublab became the world's best online radio stationhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/20/dublab-ow-end-theories-online-radio-station
<p>From modest beginnings 17 years ago, the DIY LA-based station has become a world renowned destination for everything leftfield and left of the dial</p><p>On a sweaty summer afternoon in Los Angeles, Carlos Niño sat behind the boards in the modest, un-air conditioned studio of <a href="http://dublab.com/">Dublab</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2008/aug/11/radio.digitaltvradio">internet radio station</a> that’s been broadcasting for 17 years. With a bushy beard taking over his face and a blue-gemmed ring on his pinky finger, Niño transmits supernatural jazz and acid-licked folk rock at a bit rate of 320. His co-host Miguel Atwood-Ferguson sat in the corner, with a Mac laptop balancing on his knees and his shoes nowhere to be seen.</p><p>At around half-past two, they switched on the microphones for a brief spoken interlude. “This is Theme Galaxy, our theme today is ‘mystical, spiritual, and psychedelic.’ Let’s talk about these pieces,” said Niño with the easy tone of a waiter explaining your salumi plate. “Carioca in the set. He is one of the great keepers of the Santo Daime mystical music of the ayahuasca tradition in Brazil, and this album that he made, which I love dearly, is called <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0DEGgnbx9YA">Mistérios da Amazônia</a>. We heard an excerpt of the title track, which is much longer and really keeps going into all these different spaces.” </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/20/dublab-ow-end-theories-online-radio-station">Continue reading...</a>RadioCultureTelevision & radioLos AngelesMusicThu, 20 Oct 2016 12:00:00 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/20/dublab-ow-end-theories-online-radio-stationPhotograph: Courtesy of DubLabPhotograph: Courtesy of DubLabEric Ducker in Los Angeles2016-10-20T12:00:00ZAtlanta: Donald Glover's show is the smartest – and funniest – on TVhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/atlanta-donald-glover-show-example-young-black-writers-creative-tv
<p>With a black Justin Bieber and a memorable satire on Rachel Dolezal, the show is another instance of young black writers flexing formidable creative muscles</p><p>This week’s episode of Donald Glover’s auteur dramedy, <a href="http://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/atlanta/episodes">Atlanta</a>, saw his character Earn spend most of the show’s 25 minutes trying to catch a Nigerian club manager who kept using elaborate escape routes (including a rotating wall) to avoid paying an appearance fee to Paper Boi, Earn’s rapper client.</p><p>As well as the farcical cat-and-mouse chase, the episode also included a postmodern deconstruction of “the club”, with its arbitrary rules, VIP area etiquette and wristband color-coding system. Like most of Atlanta’s first season (it’s been renewed for a second), within a few minutes of sitting down to watch you become aware you’re entering a world that looks unlike anything else on TV.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/atlanta-donald-glover-show-example-young-black-writers-creative-tv">Continue reading...</a>AtlantaFXTelevision & radioCultureUS televisionTelevisionWed, 19 Oct 2016 18:25:51 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/atlanta-donald-glover-show-example-young-black-writers-creative-tvPhotograph: FX Networks/Courtesy Everet/REPhotograph: FX Networks/Courtesy Everet/RELanre Bakare2016-10-19T18:25:51ZCharlie Brooker: 'Someone threatened to smuggle a rifle through customs and kill me'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charlie-brooker-someone-threatened-to-smuggle-a-rifle-through-customs-and-kill-me
<p>What does he eat for breakfast? What was it like working with Chris Morris? What’s the point? As a new series of Black Mirror is released, the comedy curmudgeon answers your questions</p><p>Five minutes into our interview, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/profile/charliebrooker">Charlie Brooker</a> leans over the table, his face etched with worry: “Is this thing still on?” he asks, picking up my voice recorder and examining it. “Oh God, I’ve just pressed something and switched if off now, haven’t I? Sorry, it’s just that technology really worries me ...”</p><p> <span>Related: </span><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/16/black-mirror-first-look-review-charlie-brooker">Black Mirror review – Charlie Brooker's splashy new series is still a sinister marvel</a> </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charlie-brooker-someone-threatened-to-smuggle-a-rifle-through-customs-and-kill-me">Continue reading...</a>Black MirrorTelevisionCharlie BrookerComedyComedyCultureTelevision & radioDramaNetflixWed, 19 Oct 2016 16:14:16 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charlie-brooker-someone-threatened-to-smuggle-a-rifle-through-customs-and-kill-meComposite: Getty ImagesComposite: Getty ImagesCompiled by Tim Jonze2016-10-19T16:14:16ZLaura Benanti returns as Melania Trump to blame everyone but her husbandhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/laura-benanti-melania-trump-late-show-stephen-colbert
<p>The actor and singer returned to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to parody this week’s CNN interview where Melania defended Donald Trump</p><p>Laura Benanti made a repeat visit to The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to deliver another impression of Melania Trump.</p><p>The Tony award-winning actor returned to parody the model turned potential first lady’s <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/oct/17/melania-trump-billy-bush-groping-tape-cnn-interview">interview with Anderson Cooper on Monday</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/laura-benanti-melania-trump-late-show-stephen-colbert">Continue reading...</a>Stephen ColbertUS televisionMelania TrumpUS elections 2016TelevisionCultureTelevision & radioComedyDonald TrumpUS newsWed, 19 Oct 2016 14:45:53 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/laura-benanti-melania-trump-late-show-stephen-colbertPhotograph: YouTubePhotograph: YouTubeBenjamin Lee2016-10-19T14:45:53ZCharles Dance: 'Thank God the BBC didn't make Game of Thrones'https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charles-dance-game-of-thrones-interview
<p>From The Jewel in the Crown to Tywin Lannister, the actor has been in era-defining TV dramas – and he suggests the best are no longer made in Britain</p><p>It’s an old cliche that if Shakespeare was alive today, he would be writing scripts for Coronation Street and EastEnders. But given the financial incentives, it might now be more accurate to say the fantasy epic <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/game-of-thrones">Game of Thrones</a>.<br></p><p><a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/from-coriolanus-to-game-of-thrones-charles-dance-is-acting-royalty/2016/09/23/4179aab4-800f-11e6-9070-5c4905bf40dc_story.html">Take Charles Dance</a>. On a visit to Washington last month, strangers approached the actor to say his 1989 Coriolanus for the Royal Shakespeare Company had changed their lives. He was here to collect the William Shakespeare Award for Classical Theatre at the <a href="http://www.shakespearetheatre.org/support/special-events/hca-gala/">Harman Center for the Arts annual gala</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charles-dance-game-of-thrones-interview">Continue reading...</a>Game of ThronesStageCultureTelevision & radioBBCMediaWed, 19 Oct 2016 08:30:03 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/oct/19/charles-dance-game-of-thrones-interviewPhotograph: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImagePhotograph: David M. Benett/Dave Benett/WireImageDavid Smith in Washington2016-10-19T08:30:03ZFive truly remarkable moments captured on film in Planet Earth IIhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/bbc-planet-earth-two-five-amazing-moments-david-attenborough
<p>Film crews on the BBC series used the latest technology to photograph seldom seen behaviours of animals in the wild</p><p>Six weeks ago, barely anyone had heard of sea-faring iguanas. Since then, many tens of millions of people worldwide have watched and cheered as the hatchling iguanas scrambled to escape the snakes – and just a few of them made it.<br></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/bbc-planet-earth-two-five-amazing-moments-david-attenborough">Continue reading...</a>Science and nature TVTelevisionBBCDavid AttenboroughWildlifeFactual TVDocumentaryTelevision & radioMediaCultureAnimalsFri, 09 Dec 2016 14:11:50 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/bbc-planet-earth-two-five-amazing-moments-david-attenboroughPhotograph: Screen Grab/BBCPhotograph: Screen Grab/BBCEsther Addley2016-12-09T14:11:50ZSaying 'I do' at 92: the couples grabbing life and love while they still canhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/i-do-at-92-the-couples-grabbing-life-and-love-while-they-still-can
<p>Some people are lucky enough to have a whirlwind romance in their retirement years. Ahead of a new documentary, we meet the octo- and nonagenarians making the most of every moment</p><p>Sitting beneath a set of decorative plates, an Elvis mug of tea in my hand, I look at the white-haired woman opposite and wonder, why would anyone get married at 70? Carolyn’s face breaks into a huge smile, her gravelly laugh rips through the kitchen and she answers, simply, “We want to grow old together, so why waste the time we’ve got left?”</p><p>Carolyn and Derek are just one of the couples to feature in new documentary I Do at 92, which follows the lives, loves and mobility vehicles of six people who chose to marry in their 70s, 80s and, in one case, 90s. As an unmarried daughter of twice-divorced parents, I often question why people ever marry, especially when their contemporaries are relaxing into a world of elasticated waistbands and bingo. So I took a tour to find out.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/i-do-at-92-the-couples-grabbing-life-and-love-while-they-still-can">Continue reading...</a>DocumentaryTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioMarriageFactual TVFri, 09 Dec 2016 11:06:27 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/i-do-at-92-the-couples-grabbing-life-and-love-while-they-still-canPhotograph: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITYPhotograph: CHANNEL 4 PICTURE PUBLICITYNell Frizzell2016-12-09T11:06:27ZBBC could make Planet Earth III, says producerhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/bbc-planet-earth-iii-producer-david-attenborough
<p>Broadcaster would be ‘crazy to count out’ another series after huge success of Planet Earth II, narrated by David Attenborough</p><p>It has become one of the few feelgood moments of 2016, a weekly instalment of delight that has attracted more than 12 million viewers every week.<br></p><p>As <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p02544td">Planet Earth II</a> draws to its conclusion on Sunday, the producer of the spectacular wildlife series has hinted that the BBC could return with a third instalment – though it won’t be any time soon.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/bbc-planet-earth-iii-producer-david-attenborough">Continue reading...</a>Science and nature TVDavid AttenboroughDocumentaryFactual TVTelevisionTelevision & radioBBC1BBCMediaTelevision industryCultureFri, 09 Dec 2016 10:29:12 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/bbc-planet-earth-iii-producer-david-attenboroughPhotograph: Tom Hugh-Jones/BBC NHUPhotograph: Tom Hugh-Jones/BBC NHUEsther Addley2016-12-09T10:29:12ZThe Apprentice 2016, week 10 – livehttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/live/2016/dec/08/the-apprentice-2016-week-10-live
<p>This week, our entrepreneurs had to distil their own gin. Who failed dismally – and who made the final five? </p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2016-12-08T22:00:24.236Z">10.00pm <span class="timezone">GMT</span></time> </p><p>Next week, those five rare creatures will butt antlers like never before as they compete to reach the final of this silly programme. We should probably watch right?</p><p>Join me here next week for that and see you in the comments!</p><p class="block-time published-time"> <time datetime="2016-12-08T21:59:04.437Z">9.59pm <span class="timezone">GMT</span></time> </p><p>Grainne and Frances are sent back to the house while Trish and her pastel accessories board the cab of ennui out of town. </p><p>Back at the house, Jess, Courtney, Alanna, Grainne and Frances clink glasses and delight in the idea that they’re winners, much in the way Donald Trump is doing right now, still struggling to believe that he gets to rule the world in a minute.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/live/2016/dec/08/the-apprentice-2016-week-10-live">Continue reading...</a>The ApprenticeCultureReality TVTelevisionTelevision & radioThu, 08 Dec 2016 22:00:24 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/live/2016/dec/08/the-apprentice-2016-week-10-livePhotograph: BBCPhotograph: BBCJulia Raeside2016-12-08T22:00:24ZThe Grand Tour: Jeremy Clarkson is really taunting the BBC nowhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/the-grand-tour-jeremy-clarkson-really-taunting-the-bbc-now
<p>Clarkson, Hammond and May’s new show is part tease, part watch advert – with swearing and stunts that would give the BBC standards committee palpitations</p><p>Jeremy Clarkson sported a large scab on the side of his nose in this week’s episode of The Grand Tour. It was never explained whether it was the result of a stunt or a supper order gone wrong. But, of the three episodes in Clarkson’s comeback released so far, this one seemed most intent on giving the BBC a bloody nose.</p><p>One of the freedoms Clarkson and his producer Andy Wilman have in their new travelling home – this week, they pitched their studio tent in Whitby – is that episodes can vary in length: the third was 62 minutes, up from 57 in the second but significantly down from the 71 of their <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-grand-tour-review-jeremy-clarkson-james-may-richard-hammond-leave-the-bbc-in-their-dust">online debut</a>.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/the-grand-tour-jeremy-clarkson-really-taunting-the-bbc-now">Continue reading...</a>The Grand TourCultureTelevision & radioJeremy ClarksonTelevisionSat, 03 Dec 2016 13:22:12 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/02/the-grand-tour-jeremy-clarkson-really-taunting-the-bbc-nowPhotograph: Ellis O'Brian/Publicity imagePhotograph: Ellis O'Brian/Publicity imageMark Lawson2016-12-03T13:22:12ZMichael McIntyre – the new king of Saturday night. Who knew?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/michael-mcintyre-big-show-saturday-night-tv
<p>McIntyre may be a floppy-haired berk who has built a career out of listing things people do, but his cheeky Big Show is the best weekend variety telly in years</p><p>Let me begin by running through some basic facts we all know to be true. First, Michael McIntyre isn’t funny. Second, Michael McIntyre doesn’t so much tell jokes as just baldly list things that people do. Third, Michael McIntyre is a floppy-haired berk with a shrill voice who doesn’t deserve any of his success.</p><p>OK, good. Now that we’re all agreed on that, here’s something I’ve reluctantly come to realise. Michael McIntyre’s Big Show is the best Saturday evening variety show in years. God, that felt weird.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/michael-mcintyre-big-show-saturday-night-tv">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionMichael McIntyreCultureTelevision & radioComedyComedyStageThu, 08 Dec 2016 11:50:44 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/michael-mcintyre-big-show-saturday-night-tvPhotograph: BBC/Hungry Bear/Gary MoyesPhotograph: BBC/Hungry Bear/Gary MoyesStuart Heritage2016-12-08T11:50:44ZFriday’s best TV: Adele in New York City; Walliams & Friendhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/fridays-best-tv-adele-in-new-york-city-walliams-friend
<p>Adele gives a performance masterclass in the Big Apple, while Sheridan Smith joins David Walliams in the defiantly old-fashioned sketch show<br></p><p>The brain is the most complex known structure in the universe, and research into what memories actually are continues to this day. If we are no more than the sum of our experiences, can memories be implanted or removed, leaving personalities artificially altered? A US documentary, with all the irritating conventions that entails (quick edits, overwrought music), it does ask some intriguing questions, if leaving a frustrating number unanswered. <em>Luke Holland</em></p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/fridays-best-tv-adele-in-new-york-city-walliams-friend">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureFri, 09 Dec 2016 06:30:21 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/fridays-best-tv-adele-in-new-york-city-walliams-friendPhotograph: Virginia Sherwood/APPhotograph: Virginia Sherwood/APLuke Holland, Andrew Mueller, Ali Catterall, David Stubbs, Graeme Virtue, Jack Seale, John Robinson, Paul Howlett2016-12-09T06:30:21ZDan Snow crowdfunds £160,000 to back pro-EU political candidateshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/dan-snow-crowdfunds-pro-eu-mp
<p>Campaign group More United – said to have 70,000 members – supported new Lib Dem MP Sarah Olney, who beat Zac Goldsmith</p><p>A campaign group led by the historian Dan Snow has crowdfunded £160,000 in two weeks to support progressive, internationalist and pro-EU parliamentary candidates.</p><p>The group, More United, was launched after the referendum to support those seeking office who support five principles, including seeking the closest relationship with the EU or rejoining “if that becomes necessary and possible”.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/dan-snow-crowdfunds-pro-eu-mp">Continue reading...</a>Dan SnowPoliticsZac GoldsmithUK newsJo CoxLiberal DemocratsEuropean UnionEU referendum and BrexitThu, 08 Dec 2016 13:29:55 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/08/dan-snow-crowdfunds-pro-eu-mpPhotograph: True North/BBC/True NorthPhotograph: True North/BBC/True NorthRowena Mason2016-12-08T13:29:55ZThe week in TV: Sex Box, Masters of Sex, Breathless, Tom Kerridge's Proper Pub Food and Sleepy Hollow - video reviewhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2013/oct/15/tv-sex-box-masters-of-sex-video-review
Telly addict Andrew Collins fails to get hot under the collar at Channel 4's Real Sex Season, including Sex Box and Atlantic-hopping drama Masters of Sex; notes the Mad Men similarities with ITV's 50s-set medical drama Breathless; joins Tom Kerridge on BBC2 and watches the pilot episode of Universal Channel's Sleepy Hollow<br /><br /><strong>Warning: contains scenes of an adult nature</strong> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2013/oct/15/tv-sex-box-masters-of-sex-video-review">Continue reading...</a>Masters of SexTelevision & radioTelevisionCultureTue, 15 Oct 2013 09:18:00 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/video/2013/oct/15/tv-sex-box-masters-of-sex-video-reviewPhotograph: Peter Iovino/Peter Iovino/SHOWTIMELizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson and Annaleigh Ashford as Betty in Masters of Sex (season 1, episode 2) - Photo: Peter Iovino/SHOWTIME - Photo ID: MastersofSex_102_0653
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2 Photograph: Peter Iovino/Peter Iovino/SHOWTIMEPhotograph: Peter Iovino/Peter Iovino/SHOWTIMELizzy Caplan as Virginia Johnson and Annaleigh Ashford as Betty in Masters of Sex (season 1, episode 2) - Photo: Peter Iovino/SHOWTIME - Photo ID: MastersofSex_102_0653
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2 Photograph: Peter Iovino/Peter Iovino/SHOWTIMEAndrew Collins and Andy Gallagher2013-10-15T09:18:00ZThe Secret Life of the Zoo review – a heart-rending series of animal interventionshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/the-secret-life-of-the-zoo-review-a-heart-rending-series-of-animal-interventions
<p>Zookeeping at Chester is more like social work. Plus: Extraordinary Weddings. Surely that will be more cheery?</p><p>There has been too much capybara tragedy on television recently. I’m talking about <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/sep/15/jaguars-brazils-super-cats-review-good-news">Natural World</a> not long ago in which one of these admittedly ridiculous supersize Brazilian guinea pigs was rudely pushed into a jaguar enclosure to give the big cats some hunting practice and a kill-your-own lunch. And now this: <a href="http://www.channel4.com/programmes/the-secret-life-of-the-zoo/on-demand/61643-001"><strong>The Secret Life of the Zoo</strong></a> (Channel 4), which features an unfortunate two-year-old female capybara called Lochley.</p><p>Lochley is pregnant. She has had one pup before, but sadly it died; the staff at Chester zoo are understandably nervous this time. And Lochley is not going to get much help from the father, a lazy lothario called Geff who’s about as useful at parenting as you would expect of a Geff spelled like that. (It’s OK to be a bit judgmental with animals, I think.) While Lochley goes into labour, Geff goes for a bath.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/the-secret-life-of-the-zoo-review-a-heart-rending-series-of-animal-interventions">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionTelevision & radioCultureFactual TVDocumentaryFri, 09 Dec 2016 07:20:22 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/09/the-secret-life-of-the-zoo-review-a-heart-rending-series-of-animal-interventionsPhotograph: Adam LawrencePhotograph: Adam LawrenceSam Wollaston2016-12-09T07:20:22ZThe Grand Tour review – Clarkson and co leave the BBC in their dusthttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-grand-tour-review-jeremy-clarkson-james-may-richard-hammond-leave-the-bbc-in-their-dust
<p>With their supercars, celebrity slayings and Eboladrome, Jeremy Clarkson, James May and Richard Hammond prove they can still make a spectacle – and keep the petrolheads happy</p><ul><li><a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/was-it-worth-the-wait-you-bet-it-was-readers-review-the-grand-tour">‘Was it worth the wait? You bet it was’: readers review the show</a> </li></ul><p>Enough of the secrets and rumours, the crass <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/15/car-crash-stunts-jeremy-clarkson-show-crass-insensitive-london-berlin-los-angeles">PR stunts</a>, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/16/jeremy-clarkson-row-airport-disputes-argentinian-claim-falklands">fracas/non-fracas</a> with an employee at Stuttgart airport; it’s time for Messrs Clarkson, May and Hammond to show us what they’ve been up to. Come on then, what you got? </p><p>A lot of money, that’s abundantly clear from the opening sequence, shot in the California desert. But first we’ve got to get out of rainy old Blighty. So Jeremy is leaving a building, handing his pass in ... got it, it’s supposed to be the BBC. (A lot of this first episode seems to be aimed at his former employer – if not quite winding the window down and giving a raised middle finger, then at least pulling up at the lights and looking over smugly: ha, check out my big budget.) Now he’s at the airport, checking in, no fracases this time, he manages to catch the flight to Los Angeles, where he picks up his rental car – a muscly Mustang.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-grand-tour-review-jeremy-clarkson-james-may-richard-hammond-leave-the-bbc-in-their-dust">Continue reading...</a>The Grand TourTelevisionCultureTelevision & radioJeremy ClarksonFri, 18 Nov 2016 03:45:52 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/18/the-grand-tour-review-jeremy-clarkson-james-may-richard-hammond-leave-the-bbc-in-their-dustPhotograph: Amazon PrimePhotograph: Amazon PrimeSam Wollaston2016-11-18T03:45:52ZThe Grand Tour: can Jeremy Clarkson and his cronies keep up the pace?https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/25/the-grand-tour-can-jeremy-clarkson-and-his-cronies-keep-up-the-pace
<p>The first episode arrived with a big bang, but the second was the real test. How did it stack up? There was too much filler – but at least Clarkson’s trousers fell down</p><p>It can be hard work being a fan of the Clarkson-May-Hammond iteration of Top Gear at the Guardian. You might as well admit you enjoy livening up a country walk by stamping on the heads of bunnies, or open a meeting by suggesting maybe Donald Trump’s got a point about that wall. One’s liberal credentials are ripped to shreds by confessing to loving it, but it’s a hard habit to break.</p><p>The Johannesburg-based second episode of their Amazon Prime show The Grand Tour, though, was a mixed bag. After the first episode, the big bang of a launch with an opening sequence alone reputed to have cost £3m, this was the real test: the chance to see whether they could keep up their automotive priapism. And, let’s be frank, latter series of Top Gear tended to start well before fading away, as if the good ideas were burned off like the last fuel in a near-empty tank. So how did it fare?</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/25/the-grand-tour-can-jeremy-clarkson-and-his-cronies-keep-up-the-pace">Continue reading...</a>The Grand TourTelevisionTelevision & radioTop GearJeremy ClarksonJames MayCultureFactual TVFri, 25 Nov 2016 14:26:13 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/25/the-grand-tour-can-jeremy-clarkson-and-his-cronies-keep-up-the-pacePhotograph: Ellis O'Brien/Publicity imagePhotograph: Ellis O'Brien/Publicity imageMichael Hann2016-11-25T14:26:13ZPlanet Earth II: an ode to the hard-working B-list animalshttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/planet-earth-ii-an-ode-to-the-hard-working-b-list-animals
<p>Forget the snow leopards – bring on the giant rodents that eat their own dung. It’s the thankless bit players who really carry the show</p><p>Planet Earth II is a breathtaking achievement. In terms of access, technology and spectacle, this series is second to none. No other show has managed to capture the natural world’s majesty and savagery quite this vividly.</p><p>Just think of all the big showstopper sequences we’ve already seen. <a draggable="true" href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/shortcuts/2016/nov/08/iguana-racer-snakes-planet-earth-ii-bbc">The racer snakes teeming out of rocks to consume iguana hatchlings</a>. The golden eagle plunging across the mountains and landing with a smack powerful enough to terrify its rivals. The jaguar overcoming a caiman. These are the sequences that define life on Earth, the sequences in which we supposedly see ourselves most clearly.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/planet-earth-ii-an-ode-to-the-hard-working-b-list-animals">Continue reading...</a>TelevisionDavid AttenboroughTelevision & radioCultureDocumentaryFactual TVEducational TVMon, 21 Nov 2016 13:33:41 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/21/planet-earth-ii-an-ode-to-the-hard-working-b-list-animalsPhotograph: BBCPhotograph: BBCStuart Heritage2016-11-21T13:33:41ZPlanet Earth II a form of therapy for viewers, says Attenboroughhttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/planet-earth-ii-a-form-of-therapy-for-viewers-says-attenborough
<p>Veteran broadcaster says blockbuster BBC nature show offers audiences respite from their concerns about the world</p><p>Millions of people are tuning into the BBC’s nature series <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/06/planet-earth-ii-review-david-attenboroughs-rollercoaster-tour-of-the-worlds-wildlife-returns">Planet Earth II</a> because they crave a respite from their concerns about the future of the planet, <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/david-attenborough">Sir David Attenborough</a> has said.</p><p>The documentary series, which is narrated by the veteran broadcaster, has attracted up to 10.6 million viewers on BBC1, rivalling the numbers tuning in to watch blockbuster hits <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/nov/28/strictly-come-dancing-tv-ratings-bbc1-ed-balls-kicked-off">Strictly Come Dancing</a> and <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/media/2016/nov/14/sunday-night-tv-huge-audiences-strictly-come-dancing-planet-earth">I’m a Celebrity … Get Me Out of Here</a>. </p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/planet-earth-ii-a-form-of-therapy-for-viewers-says-attenborough">Continue reading...</a>David AttenboroughDocumentaryBBCWildlifeTelevision & radioCultureFactual TVTelevisionThe news on TVAnimalsThu, 01 Dec 2016 00:01:32 GMThttps://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2016/dec/01/planet-earth-ii-a-form-of-therapy-for-viewers-says-attenboroughPhotograph: David Willis/BBC/David WillisPhotograph: David Willis/BBC/David WillisEsther Addley2016-12-01T00:01:32Z